Reinterpreting Landscapes, Memories, and Experiences into 'My Own Garden'

With meticulous composition, powerful depiction, and a diverse range of techniques, Kanako Oya uniquely expresses fleeting moments of imperfection and anxiety. Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1983, she completed her Master's degree at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2008 and received the Grand Prize at the Gunma Youth Biennale the same year. In 2009, she was awarded an honorable mention at the SOMPO Japan Nippon Insurance Inc. Art Foundation's Encouragement Prize Exhibition, marking her as a young artist with significant future potential.

This exhibition features new works where Oya reinterprets landscapes seen during her travels, along with memories and experiences from her daily life, rendering them as 'her own garden.' Against backgrounds that defy specific time or place, a calm gaze emerges within canvases of seemingly vibrant and warm colors, hinting at complex inner landscapes.



Oya states, "How ephemeral am I, existing upon experiences and memories? It's the same in my daily life, and I want to capture that uncertainty through my art." The figures of girls, with smiles and gentle expressions that nonetheless convey a sense of unease, reside somewhere within our own hearts. It is precisely this resonance that draws us to Kanako Oya's work.