Hamada Mugi solo exhibition "Chasing the White Track"
shimokitazawaartsJune 3 - 14, 2026
1-7 pm
Closed on Mon and Tue.
Shimokitazawa Arts is pleased to present Chasing the White Track, a solo exhibition by Hamada Mugi. Born in Saitama in 1999, Hamada graduated from the Oil Painting Course in the Department of Oil Painting, Faculty of Art and Design at Musashino Art University in 2023. Recognized primarily within the field of character painting, Hamada is an emerging artist who has attracted attention through numerous exhibitions.
At the center of Hamada’s pictorial world is Alyshka, a young bespectacled witch. Hamada’s paintings follow characters who grow through overcoming various hardships—circumstances, human relationships, and even the arrival of enemies. Deeply drawn to the way characters evolve in games, manga, and films, Hamada develops a parallel narrative within her own practice, where Alyshka, initially somewhat arrogant, matures through struggle and experience.
A distinctive aspect of Hamada’s work lies in her richly textured and meticulously rendered oil paintings—an uncommon approach among artists working with character imagery. The artist employs shaped panels to depict dynamic scenes, while rectangular panels convey moments of stillness. As a result, her two-dimensional characters seem to inhabit spaces with tangible depth and presence. At the same time, her fluid and expansive drawings possess a compelling immediacy that captivates viewers.
The imaginative world Hamada has envisioned since childhood continues to unfold through Alyshka’s story—a narrative born from the merging of the two-dimensional realms of games and other media she has long cherished with the natural landscapes of her hometown on the outskirts of the capital, places she deeply loves. We invite you to enter this ever-evolving world.
Hamada Mugi
Born in Saitama, Japan, 1999
2019
Entered the Oil Painting Course, Department of Oil Painting, Faculty of Art and Design, Musashino Art University, Tokyo
2023
Graduated from Musashino Art University, Faculty of Art and Design, Department of Oil Painting, Oil Painting Course
Influenced by Pierre Bonnard, John William Waterhouse, John Duncan, Henry Darger, Takano Aya, and Kudo Makiko Kudo.
Hamada creates works centered on an imaginary girl cast as a witch, along with the people and environments surrounding her. While reflecting fragments of her own everyday experiences into motifs drawn from a fictional world, she simultaneously pursues the material possibilities of painting itself, exploring new ways for invented characters to exist through the medium of painting.
Solo Exhibitions
2024
At Night, I Can See Your Face More Clearly, Kinosho Kikaku, Tokyo
2023
Michimichi no Hakoniwa (A Densely Filled Miniature Garden), Art Gallery Shirokane 6c, Tokyo
2022
Watching the Stars from the Basement, LIGHT HOUSE GALLERY, Tokyo
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026
199x15, YOD TOKYO, Tokyo
WAGOKORO, Gallery Jo Yana, France
Drawingo no Ten, aL Base, Tokyo
2025
grid4, biscuit gallery, Tokyo
Kūkan Saishoku (Spatial Embellishment), aL Base, Tokyo
Yurameku Rinkaku (Shimmering Contours), Kinosho Kikaku, Tokyo
Shakunetsu! Drawingo no Kai, aL Base, Tokyo
MYTHS AND MONSTERS, Gallery Jo Yana, France
199x14, YOD Editions, Osaka
2024
199x12: Fuyuyasumi (Winter Break Exhibition), Gallery Yukihira, Tokyo
199x13, YOD Editions, Osaka
Nichijō (Everyday Life), Chōtei GALLERY, Tokyo
Butōkai (Ball / Masquerade), KOGANEI ART SPOT, Tokyo
GIRL'S TALK, Shinjuku Ophthalmologist Gallery, Tokyo
now loading…, River Coffee & Gallery, Tokyo
2023
MINI◯ Exhibition, SANSIAO GALLERY, Tokyo
KINOSHO KIKAKU Group Show 2023 vol.2, Kinosho Kikaku, Tokyo
Sotsū (Communication), HELLO GALLERY TOKYO, Tokyo
199x12: Fuyuyasumi (Public Production), Gallery Yukihira, Tokyo
2022
Shirokane Fabruary, Art Gallery Shirokane 6c, Tokyo
MINI◯ Exhibition, SANSIAO GALLERY, Tokyo
EXODUS, K11 MUSEA GALLERY ASCEND, Hong Kong
Contemporary Tokyo Group Exhibition, Tokyo
Kotohajime, Tachikawa Artland, Tokyo
2021
199X10, shuuue, Tokyo
Otomarikai (Sleepover), Meguro rusu, Tokyo
