Utanhole Solo Exhibition “Zipgunslingers”
Utanhole Solo Exhibition “Zipgunslingers”
Utanhole
November 4 (Wed) – November 28 (Sat), 2026
Hours: 11 am – 7 pm
Closed: Sundays, Mondays, and national holidays
*During Art Week Tokyo (November 4–8), the gallery will be open daily from 10 am to 7 pm.
Opening Reception:
November 4 (Wed), 2026, 6 – 8 pm
Talk Event:
Masato Kobayashi x Utanhole
November 7 (Sat), 2026, 3:30 – 4:30 pm
(Free admission, no reservation required)
Zipgunslingers, 2026, Oil on canvas, 2273 x 1818 x 38 mm ©Utanhole
When something precious to us is threatened, any one of us may find ourselves having to take up arms. And even if we cry out, “We will not tolerate any form of violence,” this is not something we can neatly remove from within ourselves. It may be a possibility that each of us carries for as long as we live—a choice we are potentially facing every second.
Characters who are idealized mirror images of ourselves are taking up handmade weapons. Not so much as props for spectacular battles in imaginary stories, but as a means they might actually turn to in reality. They protect themselves by displaying their weapons as a threat, find themselves unsure what to do with them, play with them, or turn away from them. I paint these pictures because I think this is what we ourselves are like.
For me, the visual language of manga, anime, and video games is something like a mother tongue through which I perceive reality. It is also something like a medium that connects the reality we ourselves face with an everyday life that is peaceful, for now, or at least on the surface.
Utanhole
Text by Takashi Murakami
I first came across Utanhole’s work on Instagram. I discovered her self-portrait with bombs strapped to her body on welcome.jpeg, a website that curates street culture. After being featured on the site, the image spread explosively across social media, eventually becoming something of an icon that seemed to capture the spirit of contemporary Japan.
I learned that Utanhole was Japanese and was studying oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts. She had already held solo exhibitions in Tokyo, so I thought we’d perhaps missed our chance. Nevertheless, I asked our gallery staff to go meet her.
Much to my surprise, she was open to the idea of exhibiting her work with our gallery at an art fair. We promptly invited her to participate in an art fair in Singapore, and that marked the beginning of our relationship.
The name “Utanhole” is a play on the American slang “asshole.” Her given name is Yuika. Playfully emphasizing the first sound of her name in a way a small child might pronounce it, “U-chan” became her nickname, which eventually turned into “U-tan”. By combining “U-tan” with “asshole,” she came up with the self-deprecating artist name “Utanhole.” She is quite a formidable artist.
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2001, Utanhole aspired to become a manga artist from an early age and continued drawing manga throughout high school. In 2021, she entered Tokyo University of the Arts to study oil painting.
Although she has received formal training in oil painting, her works are primarily defined by pencil outlines, with oil paint applied in thin, loose layers that give them an almost watercolor-like quality. There is something about this approach that feels distinctly contemporary.
About 40 years ago, when I was a student at Tokyo University of the Arts, contemporary art was beginning to gain momentum, and fewer artists were pursuing traditional oil painting. Around that time, however, there was an artist named Masato Kobayashi who painted white angels using thin layers of paint, creating compositions that seemed to combine the visual languages of Matisse and Klee. I remember that works employing this kind of thinly applied oil paint began to appear around that period. In that sense, Utanhole’s painting style can be seen as quintessentially rooted in the oil painting tradition of Tokyo University of the Arts.
Utanhole captures contemporary society and landscape through her sharp, almost journalistic critical eye. By combining them with provocative, imaginary objects, she constructs psychological landscapes that reflect her perception of the world.
She currently lives along Tokyo’s Chuo Line, an area where a wide variety of subcultures flourish. Home to numerous animation studios and other creative spaces, the neighborhood has a vibrant, highly creative atmosphere, and it is here that Utanhole maintains her studio.
Her studio itself has the effortlessly stylish atmosphere of a Wong Kar-wai film, as though its characters might actually live there. She leads a life marked by a distinctive sense of style, and I imagine that this environment and lifestyle play an important role in shaping the atmosphere of her paintings.
I am told that she produces approximately 15 to 20 paintings a year.
This solo exhibition brings together a body of work that fully demonstrates her critical perspective on Japanese society.
I invite you to take a close look at Utanhole’s fresh, vibrant paintings, brimming with the energy and sensibility of an artist in the midst of her youth.
Takashi Murakami
Utanhole
Born in Fukuoka in 2001. Graduated from the Oil Painting course, the Department of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, at Tokyo University of the Arts in 2025. Lives and works in Tokyo.
Regarding the visual language of manga, anime, and video games as “a mother tongue through which I perceive reality,” Utanhole creates paintings that bring together real urban landscapes and characters. Rendered in soft colors and delicate lines, her compositions feature motifs that evoke war and incidents involving religion alongside the figures’ private feelings and fantasies. She depicts contradictory feelings within the individual, including anxiety about reality and attachment to personal ideals.
Utanhole received the Ataka Prize in 2023. Selected solo exhibitions include “New Family Plan” (2023, AMMON TOKYO) and the independently organized “Fall” (2025, AMMON TOKYO). Starting in 2026, her work is being presented through Kaikai Kiki Gallery at art fairs in Japan and abroad, including ART SG, Frieze Los Angeles, Art Fair Tokyo, and Art Basel Hong Kong.
©Utanhole
Exhibition Information
Utanhole Solo Exhibition “Zipgunslingers”
Dates: November 4 (Wed) – November 28 (Sat), 2026
Opening Reception: November 4 (Wed), 6 – 8 pm
Hours: 11 am – 7 pm
Closed: Sundays, Mondays, and national holidays
*During Art Week Tokyo (November 4–8), the gallery will be open daily from 10 am to 7 pm.
Venue: Kaikai Kiki Gallery
Motoazabu Crest Building B1F, 2-3-30 Motoazabu,
Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0046, Japan
Art Week Tokyo
This exhibition coincides with Art Week Tokyo.
Held annually in November, Art Week Tokyo is an international art event bringing together Tokyo’s leading museums and galleries. Its distinctive format allows visitors to explore multiple venues via a dedicated bus service, introducing audiences from Japan and abroad to the city’s diverse art scene, with a focus on contemporary art.
Dates: November 4 (Wed) – November 8 (Sun), 2026
Official Website: https://www.artweektokyo.com/
