Born in 2004 and currently studying oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts, Yuzuki has already drawn attention across Japan and abroad for her unflinching portrayals of human vulnerability. Shimokitazawa Arts now presents her solo exhibition ‘At the Kingdom’s Edge’, showcasing work that bridges tenderness and unease with striking emotional depth.
Rendered in richly layered oils, figures appear suspended between beauty and disquiet, their torn skin, distant gazes and luminous flesh evoking both pain and quiet resilience. Beneath the eerie allure of Yuzuki’s subjects lies a deep empathy for those who live on society’s margins – individuals whose self-expression defies convention and, in doing so, exposes their fragility. Her works, imbued with warmth amid darkness, challenge viewers to find humanity in discomfort.
The exhibition expands on this exploration through new paintings and multimedia works that continue the artist’s ongoing inquiry into existence at the periphery, the ‘edge’ where identity, isolation and freedom intertwine. Accompanied by a poetic narrative about a ‘gossip-loving wolf girl’ searching for colour at the border of a kingdom, the show invites visitors to step into a dreamlike frontier where innocence meets defiance.