Kawata Gallery is pleased to present a two-person exhibition featuring Yu Kawahara and Asako Deguchi.

Yu Kawahara creates works that explore the relationship between material presence and space through a distinctive technique combining carved wood and transparent resin. By encapsulating sculpted wood within layers of resin, Kawahara fixes three-dimensional material within a pictorial plane, allowing the viewer to perceive both the physical mass of the material and traces of time embedded within it. With a conceptual focus on the “fixation and expansion of material existence,” Kawahara’s works move fluidly between sculpture and painting, challenging conventional boundaries between the two mediums.

In contrast, Asako Deguchi builds her practice upon the techniques of traditional Japanese painting while incorporating diverse materials such as washi paper, sumi ink, metal leaf, and pencil. Through delicate lines and subtle layers of texture, she constructs quiet yet dynamic compositions that evoke rhythm and depth. Drawing upon both design sensibilities and traditional materials, Deguchi reinterprets the language of Nihonga in a contemporary context, creating abstract works that are at once refined, tactile, and contemplative.

This exhibition brings together Kawahara’s investigations into material and spatial structure with Deguchi’s exploration of line, surface, and subtle visual rhythm. Although their approaches differ, both artists share a deep engagement with questions surrounding materiality, space, and the act of seeing.

Through the dialogue between these two distinct practices—between structure and line, mass and emptiness, object and image—the exhibition offers viewers a new visual experience.

We warmly invite you to encounter the resonant conversation between these two artists at Kawata Gallery.