YUGEN Gallery FUKUOKA, located at Stage 1 Nishidori 4F, 2-1-4 Daimyo, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, is hosting "memento," a two-person exhibition by Nao Sano and ocave, from Saturday, November 21 to Sunday, December 20, 2026.
Where Landscape and Memory Meet
The landscapes we see are not always remembered or perceived exactly as they appear. A familiar view can suddenly look like something else, and a place once visited can take on a different appearance in memory. A landscape seen for the first time may also stir an unexpected sense of nostalgia.
What in a landscape do we respond to, and which memories does it connect with to create that feeling?
Rather than reproducing landscapes realistically, this exhibition presents two artists, Nao Sano and ocave, who capture landscapes through their relationship with themselves. Sano cuts out an unusual side of real landscapes that appears only for a moment, leaving viewers with lingering impressions and room for interpretation. ocave reconstructs landscapes that were actually seen by layering them with memory. Through their works, the exhibition sheds light on the relationship between the scenery in front of us and the senses and memories of those who look at it.
Nao Sano — Scenes Opened by Pointillism and White Space
Nao Sano creates paintings in detailed pointillism, following a rule of depicting only places the artist has actually visited.
The exhibition presents works depicting landscapes Sano has encountered in various places: the geometric patterns and regular rhythms created by tea fields and terraced rice paddies, the contrast of color and form produced by scenery reflected on the surface of water, and forms born where natural shapes and human activity overlap on tidal flats. By choosing what to paint and what to leave unpainted, and by meticulously layering countless dots, Sano brings out unexpected structures and expressions found in familiar surroundings, drawing viewers deeper into the landscape.
Although the places depicted certainly exist, the landscapes cut out from Sano's own viewpoint appear with a somewhat abstract beauty, looking like something other than the familiar scenery. Sano does not limit the work to the frame of "landscape painting." While capturing scenery that changes moment by moment with time and weather, Sano deliberately leaves white space, creating room for viewers to let their imagination expand freely. The scenes woven from precise dots and generous white space gently stir the senses of those who look at them.
ocave — Textiles That Connect Landscape and Space
ocave, by contrast, creates textile works based on nature and landscapes encountered in daily life, while traveling, and during artist-in-residence stays, as well as on experiences of everyday living. Using wool and cotton, weaving, and reassembling cut pieces of felt, ocave chooses materials and techniques to match the atmosphere felt in each place, and turns that impression into a finished work. Through the three-dimensional quality created by overlapping fibers and the soft spread of color reminiscent of watercolor bleeding and blurring, the works present landscapes interwoven with the light and color felt in that place and with memories that change over time.
In the work created in Finland, ocave chose white, black, and muted tones, conveying the quiet and gentle mood of the Nordic region while carrying a crisp, cold air. The work created in Bulgaria, meanwhile, captures warm light and air, taking majestic mountains and scenery as its motifs and finishing as a generous, freely expanding expression.
Works in which a sensation received in one place is converted into materials and colors bring viewers a new experience when displayed in another place. They carry the rich expressiveness unique to textiles, which are closely tied to space and daily life.
The landscapes each of the two artists has captured from their own viewpoint unfold before viewers as works of art, and what to find in them is left to each individual. Some people may focus on color, form, and texture, while others may recall scenery they once encountered, as if flipping through an album. Even the same work can bring up more than one scene or sensation. Someone who does not know the place depicted may feel a certain nostalgia, while another may discover a fresh, unfamiliar side of a view they know well.
Is a landscape something that exists out there, or something that arises within the person looking at it? Through the two artists' works, visitors can reflect on the relationship between landscape and themselves, and enjoy the diverse "scenes" (kei) that unfold at the venue.
Exhibition Details
- Title: memento
- Dates: November 21, 2026 (Saturday) to December 20, 2026 (Sunday)
- Artist Attendance: Nao Sano / November 21 (Saturday)
- Opening Hours: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM (closing at 5:00 PM on the final day only)
- Closed: Tuesdays
- Venue: YUGEN Gallery FUKUOKA
- Address: Stage 1 Nishidori 4F, 2-1-4 Daimyo, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
- Admission: Free
Details of the artists' attendance schedule will be updated once confirmed. For the latest information, follow the gallery's official Instagram.
For more details, visit the gallery's official website: https://yugen-gallery.com/blogs/exhibitions/memento_fukuoka
Purchasing Works
From the start of the exhibition, works can be viewed and purchased at the YUGEN Gallery official online store.
- ocave: https://yugen-gallery.com/collections/ocave
- Nao Sano: https://yugen-gallery.com/collections/nao-sano
Related Works
ocave
Nao Sano
About the Artists (in Japanese alphabetical order)
ocave
Born in 1986. A Tokyo-based textile artist and a graduate of Bunka Fashion College.
ocave creates textile works inspired by small everyday scenes and landscapes encountered while traveling. In the gradual process of fibers overlapping and being woven, ocave senses something in common with the slow changes of landscape, and tries to capture subtle shifts in light, color, and air within woven fabric, as if sketching them.
Main Activities
- 2026: Residency at ARV.International (Bulgaria)
- 2026: Solo exhibition The Shape of Stillness (Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea)
- 2025: Residency at Ós Textile Residency (Iceland)
- 2024: Residency at Serlachius Residency (Finland)
Instagram: @\_\_ocave\_
Nao Sano
Born in 1987 in Kumamoto. Graduated in 2011 from the Art area of the Lifelong Sports and Arts Course at Fukuoka University of Education.
Through the technique of detailed pointillism, Sano depicts places the artist has actually visited, deconstructing and reconstructing their meaning and personal memories. Major exhibitions include "VOCA 2019" (The Ueno Royal Museum, 2019) and "Kōbai Art Award Encouragement Prize Selected Two-Person Exhibition Reflection" (Tsunagi Art Museum, 2021).
Awards
- 2010: TURNER AWARD 2010, Future Prize (未来賞)
- 2017: 9th Kōbai Art Award (香梅アートアワード), Encouragement Prize (奨励賞)
- 2021: Fukuoka Wall Art Project, Excellence Prize (優秀賞)
- 2022: 20th Art Gallery Home (アートギャラリーホーム), Mitsubishi Jisho Residence Prize (三菱地所レジデンス賞)
Exhibitions
- 2019: VOCA 2019 (VOCA展2019 現代美術の展望-新しい平面の作家たち), The Ueno Royal Museum (Tokyo)
- 2021: Kōbai Art Award Encouragement Prize Selected Two-Person Exhibition Reflection (香梅アートアワード奨励賞選抜二人展 リフレクション), Tsunagi Art Museum (つなぎ美術館) (Kumamoto)
- 2023: Nao Sano Solo Exhibition, Nakao Gallery (なかお画廊) (Kumamoto)
- 2025: Art Season at Iwataya Mitsukoshi 2025 Summer, Fukuoka Mitsukoshi (Fukuoka)
- 2025: ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA2025, Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B (Fukuoka)
- 2026: Nao Sano Exhibition Frame the Scenery, Nakao Gallery (なかお画廊) (Kumamoto)
Other Activities
- 2018: Residency, Displaced Artists Fund, Vermont Studio Center (USA)
- 2021: Commissioned work for Kyushu Financial Group
Website: https://pointillism.wixsite.com/nao-sano
Instagram: @hatopopo70
