Exhibition_English_2025_Duet_A_Two-Person_Exhibition

Duet: A Two-Person Exhibition

Kazutoshi Oshimoto / Kaori Someya

— The Interplay of Stillness and Motion

On View: December 6, 2025 – February 15, 2026

Closed: Monday (Open on Jan. 12), Dec. 29 – Jan. 5, Jan. 13

Hours: 10am － 5pm (Last Entry is at 4:30pm)

Organized by Sato Sakura Museum

Supported by Meguro Tourism Association

Location: 1-7-13 Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo

Artworks

Experience a two-person exhibition by leading contemporary Nihonga artists Kazutoshi Oshimoto and Kaori Someya, showcasing dynamic and contrasting visions.

― Kaori Someya―

― Kazutoshi Oshimoto ―

Foreword

Sato Sakura Museum is pleased to present a new two-person exhibition entitled Duet, a title that evokes the notion of “two voices in harmony.” Under the subtitle Duet / Two-Person Exhibition – Kazutoshi Oshimoto & Kaori Someya: The Interplay of Stillness and Motion, we are honored to showcase the work of two distinguished contemporary Nihonga painters who are at the forefront of their field and enjoy broad acclaim.

Kazutoshi Oshimoto (1970) serves as Professor in the Department of Design at Tokyo University of the Arts, while continuing to actively present his work primarily through solo exhibitions. His practice pursues a refined visual language rooted in close observation. His nature-focused works reconfigure the poetic sensibilities of traditional landscape painting through the lens of contemporary Nihonga materials, resulting in compositions of serene beauty.

Kaori Someya (1977) studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and is active as a Tokutai member of the Nihon Bijutsuin, presenting regularly at the INTEN exhibitions. Grounded in research into the materials and techniques of Edo-period painting, her work explores figurative and kachō-ga (bird-and-flower) themes informed by the Japanese aesthetic concepts of hare (extraordinary) and ke (everyday time). Through depictions of figures in resplendent garments and traditional attire, she brings the enduring beauty of Japan’s cultural heritage into a contemporary vision, inviting viewers into a new realm of Japanese art.

Contemporary Nihonga is a field rooted in tradition yet continually evolving through each artist’s pursuit of their own expressive language. We invite you to enjoy the compelling contrast between these two painters, each approaching their practice from distinct yet deeply personal perspectives.

Sato Sakura Museum

Message for the Exhibition

It is now thirty years since I first encountered Nihonga materials.
During that time, although my themes and interests have shifted, one constant has remained: a pursuit of the “realism of emotion.” Rather than depicting visible landscapes, I have sought to give form to emotions arising from my own lived moments—joy, sorrow, anger—painting them like small cries upon the surface. In the context of this exhibition with Mr. Oshimoto, if my work embodies “motion,” then that motion may be the trembling of emotion itself.
Nihonga — a medium that is at once traditional and untraditional — has been, for me, a journey. It has no clear answers, no defined conclusion; it continues forward into places even I cannot foresee. Supported by many along the way, I am able to stand here now and present these works.
I hope that viewers will sense both the path I have traveled and the faint signs of where it may lead, while comparing and appreciating the contrasts and correspondences between our two artistic worlds.
Finally, I extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who made this exhibition possible: those who offered this opportunity, those who worked tirelessly toward its realization, and those who have loaned and cared for the works displayed here.

Kaori Someya

It is a tremendous honor to be granted this opportunity for a two-person exhibition, Duet. I am especially grateful to share this occasion with Ms. Kaori Someya. At first, I found it difficult to imagine what kind of dialogue might emerge between two artists with such fundamentally different approaches. Yet for that very reason, I have eagerly anticipated this moment. The chosen theme of “Stillness and Motion” resonates deeply, and has led me to recognize that viewers may perceive “stillness” in my work.
Throughout my early years, through much trial and exploration, I found my way to Nihonga materials. My themes and methods shifted continually along the way, but in retrospect, it seems the constant was the search for a painting that felt authentically my own. Recently, I have come to believe that the answer may lie in “painting honestly.” That, perhaps, is where my sense of “stillness” resides—an unembellished presence. At the same time, I aim for my works to possess a quality of immovability: a quiet force, enduring across time, like something that simply exists and remains. When standing before such landscapes, I feel time settle into stillness. If viewers feel a trace of that same quiet passage of time within my works, it would bring me great joy.

Kazutoshi Oshimoto