HAODORI – “AWAKENING” | Metropolis Japan

HAODORI – “AWAKENING”

Apr 02, 2026 at 7:00pm ~ Apr 30, 2026 at 12:00am

HVEN Gallery presents “Awakening,” a pop-up exhibition by HAODORI, the contemporary wagashi project by Tokyo-based artist Xenia Mylash.

Positioned at the intersection of culinary craft and visual art, HAODORI reimagines traditional Japanese confectionery as a medium for contemporary artistic expression. Working with seasonal ingredients and refined technique, Mylash creates sculptural wagashi that emphasize material sensitivity, translucency and form, transforming sweets into ephemeral objects of contemplation.

The exhibition centers on the concept of “awakening”: a quiet moment of emergence that exists between states: sleep and awareness, winter and spring, memory and presence. The works take shape as delicate, abstract forms, evoking floating membranes, droplets and translucent organisms suspended in time.

Through this body of work, HAODORI invites viewers to engage with wagashi first as visual compositions, and subsequently as sensory experiences. The act of tasting becomes an extension of the artwork itself, where flavor, texture and temporality converge, and the work exists only briefly, shared between perception and memory.

The opening reception on April 2nd will introduce this approach through a staged dégustation of wagashi, allowing guests to experience the works in sequence. The evening will feature a curated selection of drinks and a DJ set, extending the exhibition into a social and atmospheric context.

Admission to the opening is free, with a first order (¥1500) including a drink and a wagashi by HAODORI.

As part of the exhibition program, a special tea ceremony experience will take place on April 26, further exploring the relationship between ritual, taste and contemporary expression.