We are pleased to announce that the exhibition "Featured Artist : Junko ASANO" will be held at gallery UG Fukuoka from Wednesday, March 11, to Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
Asano has been an exclusive artist with gallery UG since 2011. In addition to her annual solo exhibitions at gallery UG Bakurocho, she frequently showcases her work at art fairs both in Japan and overseas. Through active promotion across Asia, her work has gained particular acclaim and popularity at art fairs in Taiwan.
This exhibition highlights her unique world of "animal amusement halls," inspired by the traditional Japanese culture of anthropomorphizing animals. We invite you to experience these nostalgic and delightful scenes.
Tokyo International Forum, Hall E / Lobby Gallery, L-010
gallery UG is pleased to announce its participation in Japan’s largest art fair, ART FAIR TOKYO 20.
This year, our presentation will focus on Takaoki TAJIMA.
His solo presentation at ART FAIR TOKYO marks his first in three years, since 2023.
At first glance, TAJIMA’s works appear light and caricature-like in tone.
Yet his practice extends far beyond mere humor or provocation.
Beginning from the question, “How does the world appear to us?”, TAJIMA has consistently translated modes of perception into sculpture, painting, and language.
This presentation focuses on how satire—central to this act of translation—operates within his work.
We are pleased to introduce a new body of works that, while cloaked in humor, ultimately arrive at something universal.
We would be honored by your visit to the fair.
We look forward to welcoming you.
gallery UG
—
"Beside the Seal"
I went to the aquarium.
A seal was standing upright.
I called my daughter.
“Stand next to it,” I said.
When she was little,
she would have run over happily,
smiled, posed,
and asked me to take another photo.
Now it is different.
She looks slightly reluctant.
But she still stands beside the seal.
Watching her, I feel a warmth rise in the back of my throat,
and at the same time, an odd laugh escapes me.
Because I can see
“the daughter she once was”
and “the daughter she is now”
at the same time.
She already has her own world.
Yet that day, she responded to my “Let’s take a photo.”
With a reluctant expression,
and still, she stood beside the seal.
That small act of compliance
somehow felt like a quiet premonition of parting.
It is strangely joyful,
and strangely lonely.
I took the photograph.
And wanting to remember it for a long time,
I painted it.
— Takaoki TAJIMA
—
ART FAIR TOKYO 20
Artist | Takaoki TAJIMA
Dates | March 13 (Fri) – March 15 (Sun), 2026
Booth | gallery UG (Lobby Booth L-010)
【Private Viewing 】
March 12 (Thu) 11:00–19:00 (First Choice)
March 12 (Thu) 13:00–19:00
【Public Viewing】
March 13 (Fri) 11:00–19:00
March 14 (Sat) 11:00–19:00
March 15 (Sun) 11:00–17:00
Venue | Tokyo International Forum, Hall E / Lobby Gallery
3-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
"Connecting artworks to people, connecting people to each other through art."
galleryUG are always there for our artists.
We will grow together with the artists and support them from production to promotion.
We aim to further enrich and expand the contemporary art scene by proposing the ideal way for galleries to be.
I express visions inspired by ordinary daily life, where animals happily coexist and warm feelings of nostalgia prevail. I hope viewers will cherish their imagination, which is often overlooked in today's fast-paced world, and the time they spend relaxing. Through my work, I encourage them to freely imagine the stories that lie beyond the artwork.
In moments when I feel like I’m in a place independent of my surroundings,
I sometimes feel like I’m in a different time and space.
The feeling is like clouds or smoke that change shape with no regard for time
that people have to live by, and it also feels like a space of my own.
To turn, various scenes that came up in my imagination from things I encountered.
To express freedom, time and desires that are on the verge of being discarded from memory.
That is what is important, in order for me to be me and for a person to be them self.
2F TERRADA ART COMPLEX Ⅱ, 1-32-8, Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
8 minutes walk from Tennozu Isle Station on the Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit Rinkai Line(Exit B)
11 minutes walk from Tokyo Monorail Haneda Airport Line Tennozu Isle Station(Central Exit)
Hours and holidays follow those of Fukuoka Tenjin.
TEL : +81-92-712-8181(代) FAX : -
Studio MOKU
This is a production studio for exclusive artists of gallery UG, which will open in 2020. It was built to approach and support artists from a long-term perspective.
