Asuka Irie Exhibition 2026 – Moonlight and Slumber

Tokyo-born artist Asuka Irie has emerged as one of Japan’s most compelling contemporary printmakers, celebrated for her distinctive technique of collaging copperplate etchings into richly layered, dreamlike compositions. A graduate of Tama Art University and a recipient of both domestic and overseas training grants from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Irie has spent several years working in France, an influence visible in the poetic French titles that increasingly accompany her works. Winner of major awards including the Kyoto Print Triennale Grand Prize, she has developed a singular visual language that blends delicate draftsmanship, surreal narratives and a meticulous command of printmaking craft.

This exhibition at Nihombashi Takashimaya SC is a major showcase of the artist’s recent evolution. Unveiled here for the first time is Dreamlike Confrontation, a new six-panel folding screen work depicting a tiger, created as a companion to Irie’s acclaimed 2023 dragon screen Black Clouds and Demonic Flame Dragon. Approximately 60 works will be presented, spanning early copperplate abstractions, intricate mixed-media compositions and new lithographs.

Highlights include androgynous warrior figures inspired by the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhism, Paris-themed works shaped by the artist’s years in France, and fantastical animals that oscillate between charm and menace. The exhibition also explores Irie’s fascination with Japanese tradition, from festivals to esoteric cosmology, revealing how she fuses classical motifs with contemporary sensibilities. A dynamic large-scale video animation based on the 2019 work L’Alpha et l’Oméga expands her imagery into a new dimension.

After its Tokyo run the exhibition will travel to Osaka Takashimaya, where it’ll be on show from May 14 to 29.