The gallery presents artists ranging from post-war to contemporary, including Yayoi Kusama, Gutai, emerging Japanese talents, and international artists.

We are pleased to present Koichiro Takagi's exhibition, ‘Infinite Light’, from September 17 at MAKI Gallery / Omotesando,Tokyo.

Anthropomorphic animals are the artist’s chosen motifs, depicted in saintly poses or dressed in clerical vestments, made to perform devout prayers or the giving of blessings. At other times, however, they appear to threaten the viewer like street gang members, as if to expose the deception and illusions of the world. As we continue to gaze at these creatures that also show us their adorable and amiable side, before we know it we are in their thrall and have fallen under the spell of the artist’s world.
The artist uses a variety of methods including embroidery, painting and stencil to add color to these motifs. Especially in his embroidered works, the matière of the thread, the luster of the uneven surface of the embroidery, exudes a different quality from that of paintings.
Holiness and vulgarity. The brutal and the endearing. By mixing elements of both extremes, the artist pursues an ideal that is not partial to either world. In his first solo exhibition at MAKI Gallery, ‘Infinite Light’, the artist presents us with an insight into his line of sight, which turns toward the light precisely because of the darkness of the present. The artist may conversely look to the darkness in peaceful times and through the works in this exhibition, the viewer is offered a glimpse into his unique perspective.

Takagi garnered a great deal of attention and was very well-received at the Taipei Dangdai, art fair which was held in Taipei in 2020. We invite you to view his solo exhibition, ‘Infinite Light’, where wide range of his works, from the past to his newest pieces, will be on show.

We are pleased to present, ‘Republic’, a solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist, Kaz Oshiro. The artist ‘paints’ on canvas, amps and cabinets, dumpsters and so on, with such verisimilitude that one might mistake them for the real thing. Through this, he asks us what ‘Painting’ and ‘Art’ are. Some may associate the exhibition title with Plato’s treatise of the same name. In this treatise, Plato expounds his famous ‘theory of forms’, using the metaphor of ‘the myth of the cave’ to elucidate how difficult it is for us to know truth and beauty. Neither the artist himself, nor we who view his work, can come close to the essence of things so easily. This exhibition title expresses the artist’s lonely struggle to investigate and express the true nature of painting, as well as challenging the viewer to stand on the same ground.

‘Republic’ will focus on Oshiro’s representative works over the course of his career. It will be the inaugural exhibition at MAKI Gallery / Tennoz, Tokyo, held in conjunction with the opening of the new space, MAKI. We invite you to take this opportunity to view this exhibition, which will make bold use of this new space and provide rich insight into Oshiro’s oeuvre thus far.