April 2026: Aika Nagano, Natsuto
LURF GALLERY 1F is pleased to announce the solo exhibition "Natsudonari" by artist Aika Nagano.
Nagano has explored an approach in nihonga that reconsiders the space traditionally treated as "blank"—yohaku—as light, and renders it as the pictorial "ground" of the composition. Beyond the depicted motifs themselves, she delicately brings forth formless presences—air, atmosphere, and subtle tremors of light—layering them as luminous veils that rise on the surface of the painting.
The exhibition title, "Natsudonari" (Summer Draws Near), evokes the seasonal moment when the presence of summer comes close at hand. In this show, Nagano presents new works that turn a steady gaze toward the shifts of season and traces of time embedded within everyday landscapes. We warmly invite you to visit and view the exhibition.
EXHIBITION OVERVIEW
Aika Nagano Solo Exhibition: “Natsudonari”
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DATES
April 10, 2026 (Fri.) - May 17, 2026 (Sun.)
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VENUE
LURF GALLERY 1F
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HOURS
11:00 – 19:00
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ADDRESS
Roob1, 28-13 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033, Japan
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STATEMENT
"Natsudonari" (Summer Draws Near)
Around Kokuu—the season of "Grain Rain"—one begins to sense the presence of summer,
as if it were already close at hand.
In air warmed by gentle sunlight, a light breeze passes by, carrying the scent of damp earth and fresh green leaves.
As the soft wind brushes my cheeks, I can feel the season slowly shifting.
Even within everyday life, there are slight tremors of light and hints of moisture in the air—moments when a familiar landscape suddenly appears different.
Attending to such quiet changes, I want to keep looking at the scenes of daily life, and to continue painting them.
Aika Nagano
ART WORKS
ARTISTS
Aika NAGANO
永野 愛佳
Treating the infinite "ma" as a finite space. In Japanese painting, the composition of the picture plane is based on the importance of the relationship between the figure and the white space around it, but in my own work, I see the white space as light, and the focus is on the background of the picture plane, or the "finite space." By giving the infinite space, which we would not normally be able to touch, a white background as light, I aimed to convey the artist's physical sensations, including the subtleties of time, humidity and the seasons. Rather than leaving the distance between objects as it is on the canvas, by painting it white, the seemingly infinite distance is illuminated by light and transformed into something finite. The ground, formed by light, affects the image, and the relationship between the two becomes richer, expressing the lingering harmony of space and objects.
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