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Keiko Aikawa Exhibition
Medel Gallery Shu Omotesando
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Artists
Keiko Aikawa
Medel Gallery Shu is pleased to present Keiko Aikawa: Emerging Forms, on view from November 7 to November 19, 2025.
Since the beginning of her artistic career, Aikawa has consistently explored the motif of the “face.” While the face remains a steadfast core in her practice, her style has never been static. Instead, she continuously pursues new possibilities, expanding dynamically with each passing year.
In this exhibition, Aikawa presents works in which the motif of the face is abstracted further, emerging as “face-like forms” that transcend their origins. This shift invites viewers to witness the ongoing transformation of her style as it pushes beyond the boundaries of figuration.
For Aikawa, abstraction serves as a way of leaving space for the viewer’s imagination. Between figuration and abstraction, her works evoke a dialogue of recognition and ambiguity: What do we see, and what do we imagine, when confronted with these forms?
Created without sketches or drafts, her paintings begin directly on the canvas, where shapes and traces emerge from layered pigments and chance brushstrokes. Out of this process, images resembling faces appear—not as predetermined depictions, but as “face-like” forms discovered within abstraction. Just as the human eye finds face-like patterns in everyday surroundings, Aikawa’s practice expands the rule of painting faces, opening the door to new possibilities.
As her style evolves unpredictably from “face” to “face-like,” these works can be seen as a record of Aikawa herself. How far can “face-like forms” be extended? This exhibition offers a glimpse into her trajectory in 2025, inviting viewers to reflect on her current position and the possibilities that lie ahead.
Since the beginning of her artistic career, Aikawa has consistently explored the motif of the “face.” While the face remains a steadfast core in her practice, her style has never been static. Instead, she continuously pursues new possibilities, expanding dynamically with each passing year.
In this exhibition, Aikawa presents works in which the motif of the face is abstracted further, emerging as “face-like forms” that transcend their origins. This shift invites viewers to witness the ongoing transformation of her style as it pushes beyond the boundaries of figuration.
For Aikawa, abstraction serves as a way of leaving space for the viewer’s imagination. Between figuration and abstraction, her works evoke a dialogue of recognition and ambiguity: What do we see, and what do we imagine, when confronted with these forms?
Created without sketches or drafts, her paintings begin directly on the canvas, where shapes and traces emerge from layered pigments and chance brushstrokes. Out of this process, images resembling faces appear—not as predetermined depictions, but as “face-like” forms discovered within abstraction. Just as the human eye finds face-like patterns in everyday surroundings, Aikawa’s practice expands the rule of painting faces, opening the door to new possibilities.
As her style evolves unpredictably from “face” to “face-like,” these works can be seen as a record of Aikawa herself. How far can “face-like forms” be extended? This exhibition offers a glimpse into her trajectory in 2025, inviting viewers to reflect on her current position and the possibilities that lie ahead.
Schedule | Nov 7 (Fri) 2025-Nov 19 (Wed) 2025 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://medelgalleryshu.com/exhibition/keiko-aikawa-emergence-november-2025/ | ||||
| Venue | Medel Gallery Shu Omotesando https://medelgalleryshu.com/ | ||||
| Location | 4-28-18, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 | ||||
| Access | 1 minute walk from exit 5 at Meiji-jingumae Station on the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin lines, 7 minute walk from the East exit of Harajuku Station on the JR Yamanote line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-6434-9925 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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