"IWATAYA Life with Art" is a large-scale art project that began in 2022 and will be held at Iwataya Department Store in Fukuoka. Located in the heart of Tenjin, Fukuoka, this project was born at Iwataya Department Store, a department store under the umbrella of Mitsukoshi Isetan Holdings, where attention and expectations for contemporary art have been growing in recent years.
This event aims to appeal to people's sensibilities through art and propose the beauty of incorporating art into everyday life. Many artists and galleries active in Kyushu and Asia will participate during the event, and a wide variety of events will be held. Together with the participating artists and galleries, we will propose a new kind of everyday beauty brought about by art, working with diverse communities through the dissemination of creativity that generates empathy.
The participating artists exhibiting from YUGEN Gallery are "ayaka nakamura" and "Tatsumi Naho."
Ayaka Nakamura pursues a unique approach to creating paintings that combine delicacy and strength, with the theme of "the existence of life." She presents her works using a variety of media, including painting and video, and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including television and magazines. Her work has been exhibited in venues such as the lounges of luxury apartments, and she continues to gain international acclaim through exhibitions both in Japan and abroad.
Naho Tatsumi virtually travels around the world to collect streetscapes on a map, discovering beauty in the accidental phenomena that arise in digital space. By overlaying her own "errors" onto these images, she creates unique landscape paintings. She is also actively exploring new areas of expression, working on advertising creative projects and murals for restaurants and hotels.
Both artists, who have attracted attention both in Japan and overseas, will appear at this event. While their approaches are different, both will develop expressions that update modern aesthetic sense.
YUGEN Gallery will also be exhibiting at the art fair "ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2025," which will be held at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B in Fukuoka for three days from Friday, September 26th to Sunday, September 28th, 2025. The exhibiting artists and details will be announced on the official website at a later date.
The entire city will be enveloped in art, and it will be a rare opportunity to enjoy a variety of art experiences unique to Fukuoka. We look forward to seeing you all at this event that will add color to Fukuoka's art scene. We hope you will look forward to it.
IWATAYA Life with Art Event Overview
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - Monday, September 29, 2025
Event hours: 10:00 – 19:00
*The event will end at 5:00 PM on the final day, Monday, September 29th. Venue: Iwataya Main Store, Main Building 7th Floor, Large Event Hall / Main Building 2nd Floor, Gallery CONTAINER
Address: 2-5-35 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City
Admission fee: Free Official website: https://www.iwataya-mitsukoshi.mistore.jp/iwataya/event_calendar/artexhibition_lifewithart_2025autumn.html
ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2025 Event Overview
Date: September 26th (Friday) – September 28th (Sunday), 2025
Time: Thursday, September 25th, 13:00 – 19:00 *VIP View
September 26th (Fri) - September 28th (Sun) 11:00 - 19:00
*The event will end at 18:00 on the final day, Sunday, September 28th. Venue: Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B Address: 2-1 Okihama-cho, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
Admission fee: [Early bird ticket] 3-day pass / Price: ¥2,000 Sales period: August 7th (Thurs) ~ August 31st (Sun) 23:59
[Student Discount] 3-day ticket / Price: ¥2,000 Sales period: August 7th (Thurs) ~ September 28th (Sun) 17:00
[Advance tickets] 3-day ticket / Price: ¥2,000 Sales period: September 1st (Mon) ~ September 25th (Thu) 23:59
[Same-day ticket] 3-day ticket / Price: ¥2,000 Sales period: 9/26 (Fri) ~ 9/28 (Sun) 17:00
Official website: https://artfair.asia/
*YUGEN Gallery Booth Number: E17