Ace Hotel Kyoto will hold "Walkabout – found in Kyoto," an exhibition by artist Yusuke Hanai, in its 1F Lobby Gallery from Sunday, November 1, 2026. It is the third installment of the Artist in Residence (AIR) 2026–2027 program, which is curated by the culture and lifestyle magazine BRUTUS.
About the Exhibition
Hanai is influenced by American counterculture and surf style of the 1950s to 1970s, and his distinctive work blends Japanese aesthetics with retro illustration. His pieces depict unadorned people, such as someone standing with a hunched back, people gathering to talk by the roadside, and someone shouting at the sky. Beneath the slightly cynical and humorous style lies a warm gaze that sees everyone as equally ordinary.
The starting point of the exhibition is the idea that "travel makes people kind" (旅は人を優しくする), which Hanai has kept in mind from a book by his friend ジョージ・カックル. Leaving everyday life, encountering the lives of people at a travel destination, and learning about cultures and values different from one's own, then accepting those differences, leads to kindness, Hanai says. Kyoto, which has welcomed many travelers from Japan and abroad, may also be a city that has nurtured people's kindness through such encounters.
While staying at Ace Hotel Kyoto, Hanai walked slowly through the city, meeting people, objects, and scenery along the way. The exhibition presents works depicting the small moments he found during those days and the fragments of kindness that live in Kyoto's culture and daily life. Small pieces are gathered on the wall like a collage, and as the works overlap, the Kyoto seen through Hanai's eyes emerges. Visitors can move through the works as if walking the streets and making small discoveries, and encounter the realizations that travel brings and a new side of Kyoto.
Exhibition Details
- Exhibition title: Walkabout – found in Kyoto
- Dates: November 1, 2026 (Sunday) to January 31, 2027 (Sunday)
- Venue: Lobby Gallery, 1F, Ace Hotel Kyoto
- Address: 245-2 Kurumayacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City, inside Shinfukan (新風館)
- Access: Directly connected to the south ticket gate of Karasuma Oike Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line and Tozai Line
- Admission: Free
Opening Reception
A reception party commemorating the opening of the exhibition will be held in the Lobby Gallery on Sunday, November 1, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Hanai will attend, so visitors can enjoy the works and meet the artist in person.
About the Artist, Yusuke Hanai
Hanai moved to San Francisco in his 20s to study art. Influenced by American counterculture and surf style of the 1950s to 1970s, he established his own style that blends Japanese aesthetics with American retro illustration. Through his distinctive lines and humorous characters, he portrays human imperfection and the subtleties of everyday life with a warm gaze. Through exhibitions and numerous collaborations, he has gained wide support across borders.
Yusuke Hanai
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanaiyusuke/
About the Artist in Residence Program
The Artist in Residence (AIR) 2026–2027 program invites artists from Japan and abroad with the aim of discovering and supporting creative activity in a variety of fields. For this season, Ace Hotel Kyoto has welcomed BRUTUS, a Japanese culture and lifestyle magazine, as its new curation partner.
AIR began at Ace Hotel New York in 2014. Artists are given a hotel room to use as a live-in studio, which supports their time and space for creating. The works made during their stay are exhibited inside the hotel and open to the public, connecting the artists with travelers and local people visiting the area. Since the program began, Ace Hotel has hosted hundreds of artists around the world, each given a hotel room for one month.
The program also runs in Brooklyn, Sydney, and Palm Springs as well as Kyoto, in each case together with a local curation partner. AIR respects freedom of creation and expression, supports artistic innovation, and builds new relationships between artists, the hotel, and the city.
About the Curation Partner BRUTUS
BRUTUS is a general culture magazine launched in 1980. It covers a wide range of themes, including fashion, art, design, food, travel, and music, from its own perspective, and has continued to offer quality lifestyle suggestions for living in the present. It is published by Magazine House (マガジンハウス).
- Website: https://brutus.jp/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brutusmag/
