A solo exhibition by artist Iori Nagashima, titled "Traces That Seek to Remain," will be held at GINZA ATRIUM, the in-store event space at Ginza Tsutaya Books on the 6th floor of GINZA SIX in Ginza, Tokyo. It runs from Friday, November 6 to Wednesday, November 25, 2026.
About the Exhibition
Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1997, Nagashima has pursued painting starting from familiar landscapes, people, and everyday objects. The warm, gentle color tones of subjects carefully painted with reference to photographs and real scenery are a hallmark of the work. Nagashima has drawn attention for a distinctive method of capturing the misalignments that arise while chasing light and color as layers of paint, and keeping them on the canvas.
This exhibition takes "traces" as its main theme.
Through overseas exhibitions and a residency in 2026, Nagashima thought deeply about the relationship between what the artist sees and the act of painting. In particular, a key source of inspiration was the look of the walls seen on the streets of Hong Kong. In walls painted over many times, with past colors and layers showing through, Nagashima found a painterly reality.
Nagashima had regarded the misalignment that arises from repainting as a problem to be overcome. The artist has now come to see it in a positive light, as an important trace of the human hand, and by layering these traces, fixes new images on the canvas. The exhibition centers on new works that paint in what remains and what changes through the process of repainting, just as they are.
Artist's Statement
Traces That Seek to Remain
Until now, I have created works based on concrete images of familiar things. This year, I received a variety of stimuli through exhibitions and residencies abroad, and I have been thinking about the relationship between what I see and the act of painting it. For this exhibition, the theme is traces.
In Hong Kong, I was influenced by walls that had been painted over again and again, haphazardly. On walls that have been used for a long time and repainted, the previous colors and traces of paint remain. The way those traces show through, even as the walls are painted over and corrected, looked to me like a painting.
The misalignment that arises when I paint while chasing outlines, light, and color. Until now, I have been troubled by this misalignment. The more I wanted to paint well and make something resemble its subject, the more I seem to have disliked and avoided it. Recently, I have come to think that it is precisely this misalignment that lets us sense the trace of a person's hand and shows a reality beyond the image.
To leave this misalignment as a trace and let it rise up as an image, I layer further traces on top. In the works for this exhibition, I try to accept what remains and what changes in the course of repainting as part of the painting itself.
— Iori Nagashima
Sales Information
- Works on display at the venue go on sale from 11:00 AM on Friday, November 6.
- Depending on the pre-sales situation, sales may end before the exhibition begins.
- On the art e-commerce platform "OIL," works are sold from 1:00 PM on Monday, November 9 to 6:00 PM on Wednesday, November 25.
Artist Profile
Iori Nagashima
Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1997. Graduated from the Department of Oil Painting at Musashino Art University in 2020.
Solo Exhibitions
- 2026: "BETWEEN," WKM GALLERY (Hong Kong)
- 2025: "INSIDE," Kyoto Tsutaya Books (Kyoto)
- 2025: "TULIP," LURF GALLERY (Tokyo)
- 2024: "徴," YUVAN Gallery (Tokyo)
- 2024: "Tone," Art Salon SCÈNE (Tokyo)
- 2023: "Reverie," Hankyu Umeda Main Store (Osaka)
- 2023: "Another Film," Tsutaya Books (Tokyo/Kyoto)
- 2022: "Flicker," Seibu Shibuya Store (Tokyo), among others
Art Fairs
- 2026: Art Basel Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
- 2026: Art Fair Tokyo (Tokyo)
- 2026: Frieze Los Angeles (Santa Monica)
- 2026: ART SG (Singapore)
- 2025: Asia NOW (Paris)
- 2025: ART TAIPEI (Taipei)
- 2025: Frieze Seoul (Seoul), among others
Public Collection
- 2024: The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, among others
Exhibition Details
Iori Nagashima "Traces That Seek to Remain"
- Dates: Friday, November 6 to Wednesday, November 25, 2026
- Hours: 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM (closes at 6:00 PM on the final day only)
- Venue: Ginza Tsutaya Books GINZA ATRIUM (6th floor of GINZA SIX, 6-10-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
- Organizer: Ginza Tsutaya Books
- In cooperation with: mona art office
- Admission: Free
Opening Reception
- Date and time: Saturday, November 7, 2026, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Venue: Ginza Tsutaya Books GINZA ATRIUM
Everyone is welcome to attend.
