EXHIBITIONS

Tokyo International Gallery presents “Figround,”
a group exhibition by Rio Uchino, Haruki Ohno, and Fu Nagasawa

Tokyo International Gallery (Shinagawa–Tennoz, Tokyo) is pleased to announce, “Figround”, a group exhibition by Rio Uchino, Haruki Ohno, and Fu Nagasawa, on view from Saturday, May 23 to Saturday, June 27, 2026.

When we see paintings and sculptures in a gallery or museum, the works appear as the “figure”, while the walls, the pedestals, and the exhibition space serve as the “ground.” When we consider the relationship between a representation and its medium, it might seem that the former is the “figure”, and the latter “ground.” Similarly, when looking at a painting and considering the relationship between material and support, the former might seem like the “figure”, and the latter “ground.” The “figure” is often regarded as essential, while the “ground” is treated as mere background.

However, is this relationship truly axiomatic?

In the works of the three artists presented in this exhibition, the relationship between “figure” and “ground” is variously intertwined — sometimes disturbed, sometimes obscured.

Rio Uchino creates “paintings” made from woven oil paint that has been dried and formed into strings, as well as works composed of a paper frame. Here, paint forms an image entirely on its own, without any canvas, and paper — traditionally regarded as support in paintings — serves as a framing device, deconstructing the conventional relationships among material, support, and exhibition equipment.

The sculptures of Haruki Ohno are inspired by religious art forms. They evoke objects of personal prayer kept close to their owner — and sometimes carried by them — rather than those installed in grand churches or cathedrals. In these works, the “ground” or the environment in which they are situated bleeds into the choice of materials and the act of making itself.

Fu Nagasawa paints motifs of animals and plants drawn from mingei-hin (folk crafts) onto canvas, using oil painting and woodblock printing. In the Western art tradition, images on canvas have always been regarded as the central part of expression. By migrating these images from their original “grounds” — ceramics or textiles — to canvas, the works invite us to reconsider the boundary between “decoration” and “representation.”

Through works that consciously deploy and seek alternative forms to elements such as material, support, and exhibition equipment and space, this exhibition explores what—in material, spatial, and institutional terms—enables a “work of art” to exist as we stand before it.