SUNDAY MARKET

Nanae Mitobe’s Solo exhibition “SUNDAY MARKET”, 2026. Courtesy of the Artist and AISHO.

AISHO is pleased to present the solo exhibition “SUNDAY MARKET” by Nanae Mitobe, running from March 22 to April 25.

Nanae Mitobe was born in Kanagawa Prefecture. After completing her MFA in Oil Painting at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, she has been based in Chiba and Tokyo.

Mitobe’s works draw on images sourced from photographs, magazines, and popular culture, which she renders through a highly physical painting process characterized by bold, rough brushstrokes and heavily layered oil paint. Rather than reproducing images realistically, the motifs emerge through the repeated and excessive layering of paint, during which the original composition becomes disrupted, collapsing and distorting in the process.

Her works contain a strong meta-perspective, clearly articulating the relationship between painting and bodily gesture in an age saturated with images. The emphasis on the materiality of paint also demonstrates a clear inheritance from twentieth-century Expressionist painting. In this sense, her work can be seen as tracing the physicality and emotional intensity of painting found in Neo-Expressionism—exemplified by artists such as Willem de Kooning, Julian Schnabel, and Anselm Kiefer—through the lens of imagery shaped by contemporary media culture.

The exhibition SUNDAY MARKET presents a new approach compared to the artist’s previous shows, introducing Mitobe’s past, present, and future in a cross-sectional manner. Alongside recent and previously unseen works, the exhibition will also include personal belongings, merchandise, items from the artist’s private collection, and valuable materials related to her artistic process. Much like an actual flea market, visitors are invited to look around and enjoy the pleasure of discovery. The exhibition offers a glimpse into the artist’s studio-like environment, tracing the trajectory of Nanae Mitobe’s thinking and creative practice.

In keeping with the exhibition title SUNDAY MARKET, the opening day will be held on Sunday,March 22. The gallery will be open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The artist will also be present, and we warmly invite you to visit the exhibition.

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