Artist baanai's solo exhibition "THROUGH THE PAINTING OCEAN" will be held at YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY (夢工房) in Kyoto from Friday, November 6 to Saturday, December 19, 2026. It is baanai's first solo exhibition in Kyoto.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is a new work in which baanai has cut up the paper paintings the artist has continued to paint day after day since around 2017, and assembled them by hand into a structure that visitors can walk through. The work moves from paintings that hang on a wall to be viewed, to a painting that people enter and are surrounded by on all sides. The exhibition marks the beginning of a new chapter for baanai. New flat works will also be presented.
Walking Through the Inside of a Painting: A Structure Rising in a Kyoto Machiya
Inside the structure, the ceiling, floor, and left and right walls are covered with fragments of paintings cut into 5 cm squares. The letters painted on the works and the colors layered over many coats surround visitors as they walk through.
What happens when a person walks through, surrounded above, below, and on both sides by hand-painted "ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU"? baanai says the change may reach not only the person passing through but also objects, the town, and even what lies beyond, and positions the structure as an "experimental device."
The venue, YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY, is a gallery in Gion, Kyoto, converted from a kyo-machiya (traditional Kyoto townhouse) with over 150 years of history. baanai conceived the work while engaging with this space, and is building it inside the machiya.
Photos by Pedro M Shimura (YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY)
From top left, clockwise (title / size / year / materials and technique). All are new works.
- "019G-131" / 532 × 455 × 38 mm / 2025 / Oil on canvas
- "020C-123" (ZEN FLOW series) / 730 × 606 × 36 mm / 2026 / Acrylic on canvas
- "019G-126" / 532 × 455 × 38 mm / 2025 / Oil on canvas
- "019G-89" / 1168 × 912 × 46 mm / 2026 / Surf magazine collage, Acrylic on canvas
Exhibition Details
Artist: baanai (バーナイ)
Exhibition title: THROUGH THE PAINTING OCEAN
Dates: November 6 (Friday) – December 19 (Saturday), 2026
Hours: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Closed: Sundays
Venue: YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY (夢工房)
Access: About an 8-minute walk from Higashiyama Station on the subway Tozai Line, or about a 10-minute walk from Gion-Shijo Station on the Keihan Main Line
Website: yumekouboukyoto.com
Instagram: @yumekoubou_gallery
Admission: Free
Organizer: YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY (夢工房)
Special cooperation: MAKI Gallery
Message from baanai
Kyoto is a special place for me. I have long held the wish to hold a solo exhibition here someday, and that wish is now taking shape. Kyoto embodies Japanese culture and spirit, and its timeless history is still alive today. The venue is a traditional kyo-machiya more than 150 years old. It was this place that gave rise to the idea of an "experimental device" that can function only here. In this land where layers of history and culture cross over the ages, I would like to quietly watch what kind of shift in awareness it brings to viewers.
— baanai
About baanai
Born in 1977 in Kugenuma, Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, baanai is an artist based in the same area. While continuing to create as a self-taught artist, baanai sent a portfolio to Rei Kawakubo, designer of COMME des GARÇONS, in 2015, and the work was adopted, which led to baanai's full-scale activity in the outside world. Since then, baanai's artwork has been used in COMME des GARÇONS collections as well as on clothing, direct mail, and shopping bags, and baanai has repeatedly collaborated with a variety of brands, including NEW ERA and FRITZ HANSEN.
baanai is known for a unique style of painting that fills the entire surface with relentlessly repeated letters. Since around 2017, baanai has continued to create works by repeatedly painting the phrase "ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU." As letters and colors are painted over in many layers, the words gradually lose their legibility and transform into abstract surfaces with a strong physicality and depth. Behind this lie the surfing culture of Kugenuma, where baanai was born and raised, long experience of collaborating with brands, and the time spent building up work while facing one's own inner self.
Recent major solo exhibitions include "EXPERIMENTALISM" (OIL by 美術手帖ギャラリー, Tokyo, 2021), where baanai presented first oil works; "UNLOGICAL" (MAKI Gallery, Tokyo, 2022), the largest presentation to date; "SWEET HORIZON" (MAKI Gallery, Tokyo, 2024); and "BEAUTIFUL SUMMER NOISE" (まえばしガレリア, Gunma, 2024). At "SWEET HORIZON," baanai presented for the first time the "SWELL/Reconstruction" series, which dismantles and reconstructs past works. At "BEAUTIFUL SUMMER NOISE," baanai presented a new series of paintings along with the artist's first three-dimensional work.
Profile provided by MAKI Gallery
Comment from the Director of YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY
I first saw baanai's work in 2021. After that, I visited the studio many times and heard many stories about making work and about art. I have watched baanai paint "ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU" every day without rest, sincerely facing their own expression. For this solo exhibition, baanai has agreed to create three-dimensional work in addition to flat works. I am delighted to be able to introduce baanai's new challenge in a historic machiya in Kyoto. I would be glad if many people came to see baanai's first solo exhibition in Kyoto.
— 木山賢一, Director, YUMEKOUBOU GALLERY (夢工房)
