Ayumi Aoki Solo Exhibition “To Hold Summer”
Jul 18, 2026 at 10:00am ~ Aug 30, 2026 at 6:00pm
Ayumi Aoki presents To Hold Summer at FUJI GALLERY SHINJUKU, on the basement level of Hilton Tokyo in Nishi-Shinjuku. Aoki builds imagined landscapes from torn washi and watercolor paper. She layers these collage fragments with acrylic brushstrokes. Light, memory, and the colors of the season guide her process.
Aoki draws on two ideas rooted in Japanese aesthetics: mono no aware and utakata. Both center on the beauty of things that change and disappear. Her work captures that fleeting quality directly on canvas.
In past pieces, Aoki often let color and form flow in a single direction, either across or down the canvas. To Hold Summer breaks that pattern. New works push large shapes and brushstrokes diagonally, so they cross and spread in multiple directions at once. The result feels more dynamic than her earlier landscapes.
Bright yellows, greens, blues, and whites collide with deep blacks and navy throughout the show. Aoki uses this contrast to hold both summer’s glare and its shadows in the same frame. Each piece carries real depth.
In her artist statement, Aoki describes her color fragments as pieces of memory and feeling. Once she joins them into a finished work, she says the painting leaves her hands. From that point, it becomes the viewer’s own story. She hopes visitors will see their own memories of summer reflected back at them.
To Hold Summer follows Utakata no Keshiki, the solo show Aoki staged at the same gallery in 2025. FUJI GALLERY SHINJUKU has hosted her work regularly since 2021, making this exhibition the latest chapter in an ongoing relationship between the artist and the space. Admission is free, and the gallery sits inside Hilton Tokyo’s tourist information area, an easy stop for residents and visitors exploring Nishi-Shinjuku.
For more art-related activities in Tokyo, check out: Museums and Art Galleries to Visit in Tokyo
Information
Start: Jul 18th 2026 at 10:00am
End: Aug 30th 2026 at 6:00pm
FUJI GALLERY SHINJUKU, Hilton Tokyo, B1F Unit 32
6-6-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
Free
