Kyoto Tsutaya Books, on the 5th and 6th floors of Kyoto Takashimaya S.C. [T8] in Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, is holding the group exhibition "resonance" featuring Yasuko Iba, Takahiro Iwasaki, Nobuaki Onishi, Teppei Kaneuji, Rui Sasaki, and Shingo Francis. It runs at the store's 5F Exhibition Space from Saturday, October 24 through Tuesday, November 17, 2026.
Feature page: store.tsite.jp/kyoto
Overview
Since opening in 2023 with the aim of being a place where tradition and the cutting edge "resonate" with each other, Kyoto Tsutaya Books has held 180 exhibitions, introducing a diverse range of expression that crosses generations and genres. To mark its third anniversary, the exhibition "resonance" returns to the store's founding concept and poses the question: "How can tradition and the cutting edge be set against each other, or brought into harmony?"
Through the practices of six artists who have each pursued a distinctive form of expression over many years and whose work carries a strength that spans past, present, and future, the exhibition explores its theme more deeply. It focuses on "resonance," a state in which each artist's sense of time and values interact to create new tension and new relationships.
Artwork Sales
Works go on sale in the store from 11:00 AM on Saturday, October 24.
Depending on presale conditions, sales may end before the exhibition period begins.
Featured Artists (in Japanese syllabary order)
Yasuko Iba
"Untitled 2026-10," oil on canvas, 50×60.6 cm, 2026. Photo: Keizo Kioku ©MISA SHIN GALLERY
Born in Kyoto in 1967. Completed the advanced printmaking course at 嵯峨美術短期大学. Yasuko Iba photographs familiar motifs such as cushions and ceramics herself, then creates oil paintings based on those photographs. In her work, the texture and atmosphere of the motifs are delicately drawn out, while the relationships among color, light, and matter are explored through the process of making. She created works during residencies in モンフランカン, France (Daimler Chrysler Group Art Scope) in 1999 and in New York (as an Agency for Cultural Affairs overseas trainee) in 2001–2002. She received the 35th Kyoto Art and Culture Award in 2022 and the 40th Kyoto Prefecture Culture Award for Distinguished Service in 2021.
Her major solo exhibitions include "まなざしのあわい" at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (2019) and "まばゆさの在処" at the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura, Kanagawa (2009). She has also taken part in numerous exhibitions at venues including the National Art Center, Tokyo, Fuchu Art Museum, Yokosuka Museum of Art, Hiratsuka Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art, Shiga. Her works are held in many public collections in Japan and abroad, including Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, the National Museum of Art, Osaka, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi, the Museum of Modern Art, Kanagawa, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Shiseido Art House, Obayashi Corporation, and The Cleveland Museum of Art (USA).
Takahiro Iwasaki
"Out of Disorder (Brushscape)," brushes, imitation gold leaf, H540×W640×D10 cm, 2026
- Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1975
- 2003: Completed the doctoral program at the Graduate School of Art, Hiroshima City University
- 2005: Completed graduate studies at Edinburgh College of Art
- 2017: Represented Japan at the Japan Pavilion of the 57th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition
- 2018: Awarded an honorary doctorate by Edinburgh College of Art
- Recipient of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists (Fine Arts)
- 2022: Awarded the 33rd Takashimaya Art Award
- 2026: Awarded the 32nd Hirakushi Denchu Prize
Major solo exhibitions include "もし、アップルパイを最初からつくろうと思うなら、君はまず宇宙を作らなきゃ" at 金津創作の森美術館, Fukui (2024); "Takahiro Iwasaki: Nature of Perception" at the Portland Japanese Garden, Portland, USA (2023); "REFLECTION MODEL (ITSUKUSHIMA)" at NGV International, Melbourne, Australia (2023); "Turned Upside Down, It's a Forest" at the Japan Pavilion in the Giardini, Venice, Italy, for the 57th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition (2017); and "Takahiro Iwasaki: In Focus" at Asia Society, New York, USA (2015).
Nobuaki Onishi
"Tool box #4," painted resin, W37×D15×H20.5 cm, 2026. Photo: Hikari Okawara
Born in Okayama Prefecture in 1972. Completed the printmaking program at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts, in 1998.
Onishi casts and colors natural objects and everyday things in resin, using structures of reproduction and inversion to create objects and multiples. By deliberately letting a texture that could be mistaken for the real thing coexist with transparent sections, he expresses an in-between state ("awai"), and by incorporating qualities such as thinness and mirrored surfaces, he questions what "existence" and "the original" mean. The concepts he developed while mastering printmaking techniques are also clearly present in the prints he produces alongside his three-dimensional work. Since 2011, he has also continued a project born from dialogue with artist Kazuo Okazaki, with whom he co-created the multiple work "Born Twice."
Teppei Kaneuji
"Teenage Fan Club (2.5/L)," UV inkjet print on aluminum plate, 127×100 cm
Born in Kyoto Prefecture in 1978. Completed the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts, in 2003.
His motifs are mainly figurines and sundries that carry everyday imagery. He has drawn attention by rhythmically repeating and amplifying images of information that is continually reproduced in contemporary society. By connecting individual objects while ignoring their original meanings, he brings about unexpectedly dynamic expression.
Major solo exhibitions include Teppei Kaneuji / Richard Pettibon "Monocrome Game (for Duchamp and Brancusi)" (2025); Teppei Kaneuji and the Constructions "tower (UNIVERSITY)" at gallery@KCUA, Kyoto (2025); "POOOPOPOO" at Yumiko Chiba Associates, Tokyo (2023); "DOUBLE TROUBLE CMTK: CHIHIRO MORI X TEPPEI KANEUJI" at Jane Lombard Gallery, New York (2023); "S.F. (Something Falling/Floating)" at Ichihara Lakeside Museum, Chiba (2022); "物！物！物！" at Click Ten Art Space, Beijing, China (2021); and "En/trance" at Japan Society, New York, USA (2020–21). Major group exhibitions include "The House of Pikachu: Art, Anime, and Pop Culture" at Asia Society Texas, Houston (2025); Setouchi Triennale 2025, Okayama (2025); and "ミネバネ！現代アート タグチアートコレクション" at the Akita Museum of Art and Akita Senshu Museum of Art, Akita (2025). His works are held in the collections of the Yokohama Museum of Art, Mori Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Takamatsu Art Museum, National Museum of Art, Osaka, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, KADIST (Paris, USA), Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art (Australia), Ullens Foundation Collection (Switzerland), Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest (Hungary), and Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art.
Rui Sasaki
"植物の記憶-秋の窓-," glass and plants, kiln work and inclusion, H840×W440×D19 mm, 2025. Bullseye Glass Co. / Hanmi Meyer
Born in Kochi Prefecture in 1984. Graduated from Musashino Art University in 2006 and completed the master's program at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2010. Drawing inspiration from the nature and living environments close at hand, she mainly uses glass, a material that allows preservation and recording, to explore the nature of the "faint nostalgia" she perceives in the place where she exists. Invited for residencies mainly in Northern Europe and the United States, she exhibits at museums in Japan and abroad. Her major awards include the 33rd Rakow Commission 2018 (2019, Corning Museum of Glass, USA) and the Grand Prize at 富山ガラス大賞展2021 (Toyama Glass Art Museum). Her works are held in numerous collections, including the National Museum of Norway, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and the National Crafts Museum.
Recently, she has taken part in 国際芸術祭あいち2025 and in the solo exhibition "Subtle Intimacy : Here and There" (2023, Portland Japanese Garden, USA). She has been featured in publications including The New York Times. She is currently based in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Shingo Francis
"Ring of Violet," 2025, oil on canvas, 122×122 cm. Photo: Keizo Kioku ©MISA SHIN GALLERY
Born in Santa Monica, California, in 1969. Based in Los Angeles and Kamakura. Francis is an artist who continues to explore spatial expanse and spirituality in painting. He is known for abstract paintings in layered blues and deeply colored monochrome works, as well as the "Interference" series, paintings made with special materials in which various lights and colors emerge depending on the viewing angle. He has taken part in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Japan and abroad, including at the Sezon Museum of Modern Art (Nagano, 2018), the Martin Museum of Art (Texas, 2019), Maison Hermès Le Forum in Ginza (Tokyo, 2023), and the Chigasaki City Museum of Art (Kanagawa, 2024). His works are held in collections including the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, the Bank of Spain, the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation, the Mori Art Collection, the Saison Museum, and the Chigasaki City Museum of Art.
Exhibition Details
Group Exhibition "resonance" by Yasuko Iba, Takahiro Iwasaki, Nobuaki Onishi, Teppei Kaneuji, Rui Sasaki, and Shingo Francis
- Dates: Saturday, October 24 to Tuesday, November 17, 2026
- Hours: 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM (closes at 6:00 PM on the final day only)
- Venue: Kyoto Tsutaya Books, 5F Exhibition Space (Kyoto Takashimaya S.C. [T8] 5F/6F, 35 Otabi-cho, 2-chome, Shijo-dori Teramachi Higashi-iru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto)
- Organizer: Kyoto Tsutaya Books
- Cooperation: ANOMALY, ART FRONT GALLERY, MISA SHIN GALLERY, MA2 Gallery
- Admission: Free
- Inquiries: 075-606-4525
- Feature page: store.tsite.jp/kyoto
A reception party will be held at the venue from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Saturday, November 7, during the exhibition. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend.
