Gallery Monma in Sapporo is currently hosting a solo exhibition by Japanese painter Yuka Kasai titled "Waving from afar." The exhibition features humorous Japanese paintings and three-dimensional works, each with a theme of everyday objects like chocolate pies and stuffed toys. We'll introduce the charm of this contemporary Japanese painting exhibition, which you can enjoy without having to worry about stress!

"Unconditional Love" Color on paper, water-based paint, mica, oil-based pen / 2025

Yuka Kasai is a Japanese painter whose works have been featured at exhibitions and art fairs both in Japan and abroad. When you hear the term "Japanese painting," you might imagine landscapes painted in all black ink or portraits of beautiful women in kimonos, but her Japanese paintings are a little more unique. Her subjects, such as "Unconditional Love," depicting a chocolate pie, and "For a Passerby, or a Stuffed Animal," depicting a stuffed animal peeking through a window, are scenes that are easy for anyone to relate to, and the titles are sure to make you smile. The great appeal of her work is that it can be enjoyed without any stress.

"For Passersby or Stuffed Animals" Color on paper, water-based paint / 2025

Among the works on display this time, one that is likely to make you say "That's so true!" is a three-dimensional piece called "Overprotection," which is one that you should definitely check out at the venue.

Scenery of the exhibition venue

What was the intention behind creating this exhibition? In his speech, Kasai explains:

"Just Between Us" Color on paper, water-based paint / 2025

This exhibition features works that make us reconsider the distance between people and things, such as "Just Between Us," which considers the comfortable distance between people through the scene of casual conversation in a smoking area.

"Even if you are swept away, you can still find the rudder" Color on paper, ink, polymer clay, water-based paint, wood / 2025

This exhibition will feature unprecedented expressions, including three-dimensional works, such as "Even if you are swept away, you can still steer," which was created with the intention of "concentrating on your own thoughts and feelings and not letting yourself be swept in the wrong direction" even while being bombarded with a vast amount of information, and unmanned sales of palm-sized, talisman-like barrier stones (stopping stones placed as markers indicating "no entry from here").

Barrier stones made from pebbles found in Ishikari, Shiretoko, and other areas

I hope that visitors to this exhibition will smile at the familiar scenes from everyday life and the twisted titles that accompany them, and feel a sense of relief from the "distance rehabilitation" that the artist has attempted, starting from tomorrow. (I also ended up buying a Sekimori stone.)