Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 min (Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo) will host "灯火," a solo exhibition of new works by artist Machi Sugita (杉田万智), from July 25 (Saturday) to September 8 (Tuesday), 2026.
The exhibition is the 20th show at Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 min, a space in the TODA BUILDING that combines an art gallery with a bakery and café. Sugita has been building a distinctive body of work centered on the themes of "borders" and the memory of places, and "灯火" marks a further deepening of that inquiry.
About the Exhibition
Born in Saitama Prefecture in 2000, Machi Sugita has long drawn inspiration from the interplay between the "light" created by human hands and the "signage" that guides people through the world. In recent years, her attention has shifted to the complex histories and territorial boundaries within Japan, leading her to travel across the country and observe firsthand the landscapes, memories, and relationships between people, plants, and animals that each place holds.
"灯火" follows her previous solo exhibitions "BORDER" (2025) and "反射光を受けて、境界線に立つ" (2025), and presents a new series of paintings in which fragments of landscapes encountered on her travels are brought together on a single canvas.
Exhibition Statement
In her own words, Sugita describes her practice:
I have long expressed an ideal world where "light" created by humans and "signs" that show people where to go coexist.
At some point, every time I heard news related to Russia and Ukraine, or words like the Northern Territories, I found my attention turning to issues within Japan. From there, I began to contemplate the many problems surrounding ethnicity and human rights in Japan, and the concept of "borders."
These borders seem distant yet are closest to us, deeply intertwined with each of us as individuals.
Believing that capturing the truth with my own eyes was most important, I began making a point of going to various places and touching the land.
The closeness of Sakhalin as seen from Sōya, Ainu patterns in the streets, Okinawa's repeated crossings with the mainland, Yonaguni Island and Taiwan, memories layered in time and offerings of flowers, the relationships between people and the plants and animals that live on the land, and the histories passed down through generations.
The diversity of all this made me realize that I myself exist within a vast vortex. I also exist within the category of minority.
As I captured countless landscapes with my own eyes, they seemed to reflect back like light, and I found myself unconsciously gazing at my own self as well.
I proceeded with my work as if collecting these fragments one by one, and on the canvas, the fragments clustered together like the lights and signs of a city.
Our world continues forever, like a one-way road.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition: 杉田万智 New Solo Exhibition "灯火"
Period: July 25, 2026 (Saturday) – September 8, 2026 (Tuesday)
(Reception: July 24, 2026 (Friday) 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM)
Hours: 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Closed: Open throughout the exhibition period
Admission: Free
Venue: Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 min
Address: TODA BUILDING 1F, 1-7-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0031
Access:
- Tokyo Metro Ginza Line "Kyobashi Station" Exit 6 — 3-minute walk
- Tokyo Metro Ginza Line "Nihonbashi Station" Exit B1 — 5-minute walk
- JR Lines "Tokyo Station" Yaesu Central Exit — 8-minute walk
Exhibition page: https://artsticker.app/events/138437
About the Artist
Machi Sugita was born in Saitama Prefecture in 2000. She completed the Art Course of the Department of Fine Arts at Joshibi University of Art and Design Junior College in 2020, and graduated from the university's research program in 2022.
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
- 2022: "First Light" (ARTDYNE)
- 2023: "Dignity and Light" (Contemporary Tokyo)
- 2023: "We can't all become one" (ARTDYNE)
- 2024: "流れ鳥" (GALLERY ROOM A); "光る星" (Seibu Shibuya)
- 2025: "BORDER" (ARTDYNE); "反射光を受けて、境界線に立つ" (biscuit gallery)
- 2026: "灯火" (Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 min)
Selected Group Exhibitions:
- 2020: "SHIBUYA STYLE vol.14" (Seibu Shibuya)
- 2021: "nine colors XV" (Seibu Shibuya)
- 2022: "Aritificial Phenomenon" (Centurion Lounge, Regent Hotel, Taipei)
- 2022: "阪急うめだnine colors" (Hankyu Umeda)
- 2023: "grid2" (biscuit gallery)
- 2024: "Draw Lines & Shapes in My Maps" (T&Y Gallery, Los Angeles)
- 2025: Joshibi University of Art and Design 125th Anniversary Exhibition (Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Honten)
Awards:
- Graduation Work Award, Joshibi Junior College 2019 Graduation Exhibition
- Runner-up Grand Prix and Special Prize, 7th "Mirai-ten"
- Special Prize, 8th "Mirai-ten"
Instagram: @machi3021
