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Mai Honke "Liquid"
Shimokitazawa Arts
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Artists
Mai Honke
Shimokitazawa Arts is pleased to present liquid, the first Tokyo solo exhibition by Honke Mai.
Honke Mai was born in Osaka Prefecture in 1999. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Kyoto City University of Arts in 2023, completed the Master’s Program in Fine Arts at the same university in 2025, and is currently based in Osaka.
Honke has loved drawing since childhood. When she first encountered an orca at a nursery school age, she was captivated by the power and elegance of its fluid, dynamic body. From then on, she began visiting zoos and aquariums every week. Even after seriously committing herself to painting upon entering university, animals have remained a constant motif in her work.
Prompted by experiences such as the death of her beloved dog, Honke continues to contemplate deeply the question, “What does it mean to be alive?” While life is undeniably singular, no being can live alone. Humans, animals, plants, and their surrounding environments are all indispensable to existence. To express this interdependence, Honke creates works in which large, flowing forms rendered in charcoal emerge, within which living beings appear as integral parts of the whole.
No matter how small or large, every creature lives as a single, irreplaceable life in this world. Depicting a fragment of the unbroken energy of life like the current of a great river, Honke’s rich monochromatic world is at once austere and beautiful. We invite you to experience this compelling body of work.
Honke Mai was born in Osaka Prefecture in 1999. She graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Kyoto City University of Arts in 2023, completed the Master’s Program in Fine Arts at the same university in 2025, and is currently based in Osaka.
Honke has loved drawing since childhood. When she first encountered an orca at a nursery school age, she was captivated by the power and elegance of its fluid, dynamic body. From then on, she began visiting zoos and aquariums every week. Even after seriously committing herself to painting upon entering university, animals have remained a constant motif in her work.
Prompted by experiences such as the death of her beloved dog, Honke continues to contemplate deeply the question, “What does it mean to be alive?” While life is undeniably singular, no being can live alone. Humans, animals, plants, and their surrounding environments are all indispensable to existence. To express this interdependence, Honke creates works in which large, flowing forms rendered in charcoal emerge, within which living beings appear as integral parts of the whole.
No matter how small or large, every creature lives as a single, irreplaceable life in this world. Depicting a fragment of the unbroken energy of life like the current of a great river, Honke’s rich monochromatic world is at once austere and beautiful. We invite you to experience this compelling body of work.
Schedule | Feb 4 (Wed) 2026-Feb 15 (Sun) 2026 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://shimokitazawaarts.tokyo/en/honkemai_liquid_en/ | ||||
| Venue | Shimokitazawa Arts https://shimokitazawaarts.tokyo/en/home-english/ | ||||
| Location | 1F, 1-40-9 Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 155-0031 | ||||
| Access | 4 minute walk from the East exit of Shimokitazawa Station on the Odakyu Odawara or Keio Inokashira line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-6804-7636 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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