From Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 30, 2026, OIL by Bijutsu Techo Gallery (2F Shibuya PARCO, 15-1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) hosts artist Yuri Hasegawa's solo exhibition "Hokey-Pokey."
URL: https://oil-gallery.bijutsutecho.com/
Overview
Yuri Hasegawa is an artist who graduated from the oil painting program at Tokyo University of the Arts. Working under the theme of "fakes," she weaves original stories and creates humorous, one-of-a-kind plush works modeled on characters from well-known films and anime. Made from felt and cotton that carry the warmth of handwork, her characters carry a certain melancholy and charm, each one somehow imperfect and unable to fully become "the real thing." In a society awash in sophisticated reproduction technology and digital information, these works carry a light critical edge, gently questioning the boundary between original and copy — and, by extension, what constitutes truth.
This exhibition, "Hokey-Pokey," presents around 40 large and small "fake" plush works selected for the story Hasegawa weaves. It also unveils drawing works that mark the starting point of her practice, tracing the artist's path of thought and expression from two dimensions into three.
Artist Statement
In the end, this world is all illusion. And it is with that illusion that I play.
Yuri Hasegawa
Material: felt, cotton, thread
Material: felt, cotton, thread
Material: felt, cotton, thread
Artwork Sales
In-person sales: August 7 (Fri) – August 30 (Sun)
Online sales (via OIL): August 17 (Mon) 4:00 PM – August 30 (Sun) 8:00 PM
Sales URL: https://oil.bijutsutecho.com/gallery/733
Note: Online sales open only after in-person sales have begun, so some works may already be sold out by the time they appear online.
Goods: For this exhibition, an original eraser set created through a collaboration between Yuri Hasegawa and OIL by Bijutsu Techo is also available at the venue.
Fancy Eraser Set: ¥2,640 (tax included)
Artist Profile
Yuri Hasegawa
Born in Mie Prefecture in 1978. Graduated from the oil painting course, Department of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, in 2002. In recent years, she has been based mainly in Tokyo, creating works and installations using plush toys both in Japan and abroad.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2026 "HELLO my name is...." Kameido Art Center (Tokyo)
- 2025 "Everything will be gone before you knew it" Utrecht (Tokyo)
- 2024 "That and this, these and those" Utrecht (Tokyo)
- 2024 "It's not big deal" Kameido Art Center (Tokyo)
- 2024 "May I come in?" ON READING (Nagoya)
- 2023 "I want to be with you" motif gallery (Kagawa)
- 2022 "Fail" waiting room (Taiwan)
- 2021 "Yuri Hasegawa Solo Exhibition" MAT NEW SPACE (Tokyo)
- 2020 "ring-ring It's me" motif gallery (Kagawa)
- 2018 "Badges, Nadiff, and an Octopus Slide – Nadiff's 10th Anniversary Exhibition" NADiff a/p/a/r/t (Tokyo)
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2025 "7-Person Exhibition: BIG BY BIG" Kameido Art Center (Tokyo)
- 2024 "Art Jungle – Geidai Zoo" Tokyo University of the Arts art plaza (Tokyo)
- 2023 "Art 5-Person Exhibition" Kameido Art Center (Tokyo)
Exhibition Details
- Exhibition: Yuri Hasegawa "Hokey-Pokey"
- Dates: August 7 (Fri) – August 30 (Sun), 2026 (open every day during the run)
- Hours: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
- Venue: OIL by Bijutsu Techo Gallery (2F Shibuya PARCO, 15-1 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)
- Admission: Free
- Access: 5-minute walk from the Hachiko Exit of Shibuya Station
- Inquiries: oil_gallery@ccc.co.jp
- URL: https://oil-gallery.bijutsutecho.com/
