Osaka University of Arts Graduate Exhibition

Abeno Harukas Kintetsu Main Store, Osaka

February 4–14, 2025

In April 2022, she entered the graduate program at Osaka University of Arts, where she formally focused on painting for the first time. This exhibition marked the culmination of three years of studio research.

At the time, her fibromyalgia had progressed to near Stage 4. There were periods when muscle weakness made it difficult even to hold a brush. While moving in and out of the hospital, she continued working by adjusting her methods around physical limitations rather than resisting them. The exhibition stands as a turning point in her life as a painter.

Here, she revisited her long-standing theme of “resilience” or “the strength to live,” approaching it in a more structural and conceptual way. Referencing Walter Benjamin’s idea of “aura,” she focused on the material presence of painting and the sense of time embedded in layered surfaces. Although more visually forceful works were possible, she chose to pursue a quieter presence. Pain and restriction were not framed as something to overcome, but as processes to interpret and transform within the work itself.

Through her graduate research, she also became increasingly aware of the difficulty many young Japanese artists face in articulating their work and sustaining a practice. She continues to work while managing her condition, and is involved in supporting emerging artists.

Following her first solo exhibition “I AM,” this exhibition moved beyond a purely personal narrative toward a structure that could be shared more broadly, receiving support both domestically and internationally.