During my trip to Japan some weeks ago, I had the honor of checking out this art gallery in Tokyo! It all began when a friend spotted and alerted me about a poster featuring Hello Kitty featured in a pop-up fine arts gallery in Matsuzakaya department store in Ueno. It was 9 July 2026, the first day of it lasting for a week, so off I went excitedly expecting to see a whole gallery of Hello Kitty art. Upon my arrival though there was only ONE Hello Kitty painting among all the other fine art work displayed lol! Not to worry, as it was for the better as the entire exhibition turned out to be very interesting and wonderful as I got to take a close look at all the beautiful paintings by various Japanese artists. I tried taking some photos of my selected favorites but with the room lights and reflective glass, they didn’t come out too well, sorry, but you get the idea..
Ukiyo-e and Pop Culture
This Hello Kitty piece was created by Yuki Koyano whose work is inspired by the traditional Ukiyo-e print from Japan’s Edo era and then combining it with “vibrant pop-design” characters. So impressed I was that I was tempted to even buy this artwork but balked at the price of JPY 1,075,500 which would be roughly €5,800! Besides WHERE in the house would I hang it? Better to display my own artwork haha!
Nihonga and Kawaii
In fact, many of the artists exhibiting at this gallery had this in common: Blending traditional Japanese art with modern contemporary style. As illustrated below, the work of Kei Sugiyama appealed to me most. What makes it so special is that the artist combines Kawaii with Nihonga: Washi paper on a block of wood, using traditional Japanese watercolor via natural pigments and Nikawa binding medium. To create texture he just builds the pigment and medium layer after layer, which is rather impressive since from experience, one needs to wait till each layer dries and ensure the surface is even. Not easy at all! And I love these little bunnies…
Kirikane Gold Leaf Art
Another traditional Japanese method that amazed me was the Kirikane method of Nihonga. This is when a sheet of gold leaf is intricately cut up in little pieces and even thread-like strips and carefully glued onto washi paper or piece of wood with Nikawa medium. HIdetoshi Namiki is one amazing artist whose beautiful work was also displayed at the gallery. Unfortunately, I was unable to photograph close-ups but I have ordered a book about this and can’t wait to read about it more!
Negative Space with Masking Fluid
Although not entirely involvilng traditional Japanese art, this artist is worth a mention. I had the opportunity to meet and speak to Aki Yamamoto in person and she was happy to explain her rather unique method of using masking fluid to create such cute and colorful paintings. After pencil-sketching on washi paper, masking fluid (she recommends Holbein brand) is spread onto the desired “white” areas and the background and once dried, acrylic paint is applied on the gaps, thereby resulting in an interesting negative space effect. I really love these cat paintings, and would love to experiment with this method when I have the chance!
And what an inspiring day that was! What started as a Hello Kitty rush turned out to be a wonderfully good few hours spent on admiring such amazing pieces of artwork and getting ideas and inspiration for my next pieces. And may I add that after 32 years living outside Japan, it’s wonderful to go back to my roots and appreciate my own culture which has plenty to offer both aesthetically and in technique. Now I have even more the reason to develop my creativity further. Can’t wait to implement some of these ideas in my work!
My Kawaii Quarter 