From Friday, November 6 to Thursday, November 12, 2026, URBAN RESEARCH KYOTO in Kyoto hosts the "Morphée × Kate Gibb Special Exhibition & Pop-Up," where the silkscreen works of London-based artist Kate Gibb meet the products of the Japanese bag brand Morphée.
Kate Gibb has created striking visuals across music, fashion and art from the 1990s to the present, including album artwork for The Chemical Brothers and work connected with Hermès, Dries Van Noten, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney. Morphée is a Japanese brand with many fans, known for refined designs that combine lightness and suppleness.
The collaboration is built around three of Kate's signature motifs, "Community Love," "Togetherness" and "Palm," and is presented as a co-creation project in which her silkscreen works and Morphée's products intersect. Different expressions and backgrounds overlap, such as people and people, art and product, and London and Tokyo/Kyoto, to create new value. The event layers Kate's organic, chance-driven colors and silkscreen prints onto Morphée's quiet, inorganic world.
Exhibition
Kate Gibb created new original silkscreen works especially for this Kyoto exhibition, and they are on display and for sale. Her latest pieces layer transparent ink on off-white paper for a muted, ethereal look, and were made to harmonize with the concrete space of URBAN RESEARCH KYOTO. Works on black paper with greater depth are also shown.
Lineup and Product Details
Morphée × Kate Gibb Collaboration Bags
The highlight of the event is a special edition in which Kate Gibb herself silkscreen-prints directly onto Japanese-made fabric, which is then made into Morphée bags.
The vivid layers of color, transparency, scratchy textures and subtle misregistration that come from Kate's handwork are carried straight onto the bag fabric, so every silkscreen print looks different. The handles are made from Morphée's Indian goat leather. Because each piece has its own look, something mass production could never reproduce, the bags are described as "art you can carry" and are available in limited quantities. Limited-edition long-sleeve T-shirts and T-shirts featuring her original artwork are also on sale.
Special Edition (limited quantity)
This edition uses two of Kate's signature artworks, "Togetherness" and "Community Love." The edition is signed by Kate herself and edition-controlled, giving it a value close to that of an artwork even though it is a product.
Japan Edition
An edition for Japan centered on the "Palm Tree" series. The lineup combines the refined look of Morphée's bags with the expression of Kate's silkscreen prints (colors: Ecru / Feather Grey).
Limited Apparel
URBAN RESEARCH-exclusive graphic apparel featuring Kate Gibb's artwork is also on offer. The limited lineup of T-shirts and long-sleeve T-shirts lets customers enjoy her original colors and world view in daily life.
Visual
The project's main visual was photographed by Keiji Kaneko (@keijikaneko on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keijikaneko/).
Opening Day Reception and Talk
Kate Gibb will visit URBAN RESEARCH KYOTO herself on the first day, Friday, November 6, for a reception party and a special talk. The reception party is open to anyone who would like to stop by. At the venue, visitors can view and purchase the special edition bags made for this event and Kate Gibb's original silkscreen works while enjoying drinks.
At 7:00 PM, a special talk with Kate Gibb will explore the sources of her creativity, her thoughts on this pop-up, and the collaboration with Morphée.
Event Overview
Event Name: Morphée × Kate Gibb Special Exhibition & Pop-Up
Period: Friday, November 6 – Thursday, November 12, 2026
Venue: URBAN RESEARCH KYOTO, 285 Enpukujimae-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8045
Phone: 050-2017-9156
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanresearch_kyoto/
Opening Day Program (Friday, November 6):
- 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Reception party
- 7:00 PM: Kate Gibb special talk
About Kate Gibb
Instagram: @kategibbprint
Kate Gibb is a London-based artist and silkscreen printer. She studied Printed Textiles at Middlesex University, where she developed her sense of color, texture and pattern. She creates intuitive, experimental work that embraces the chance effects and "happy accidents" born of the analog process of silkscreen printing.
She has built a creative relationship with The Chemical Brothers over many years and has created numerous iconic artworks, beginning with "Surrender" in 1999, as well as "Come With Us." Her work spans music, fashion and art, and she has collaborated with brands and media including Hermès, Dries Van Noten, Stussy, Apple and British Vogue. More recently, she has been involved in Burberry's SS26 campaign, Pink Floyd artwork with Sony Music Entertainment, and a project related to Paul McCartney.
She continues to be based in London, creating her own silkscreen works alongside commissioned projects and presenting them to galleries and collectors around the world.
About Morphée
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morphee_______/
Morphée is a Japanese bag brand founded in 2022. It values the expression of the materials themselves and the time that changes together with the people who use them, offering products with lightness, suppleness and a quiet presence. Centered on bags made with goat leather, the brand is expanding the possibilities of materials and craftsmanship, including collections made with Japanese-made fabrics and leather.
