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Shinichi Kaneko
Born in Japan
Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Design (1999)
M.F.A., Tokyo University of the Arts (2001)
Shinichi Kaneko is a sculptor and contemporary artist whose work examines the structures of interconnectedness that shape the world. Drawing from ukiyo-e shunga (erotic woodblock prints), he focuses particularly on the entangled limbs depicted within them, using these forms as a metaphor for relational structures that extend beyond human relationships to encompass all phenomena.
Here, “interconnectedness” refers to a continuous network of influence and contact through which forms, relationships, and perception come into being.
Kaneko works across sculpture, painting, and drawing, developing his practice through the translation of images between dimensions and media.
Major solo exhibitions include Gallery Miyasaka (2005–2024), Daikanyama Tsutaya (2022), the former Kondo Residence (2013), and Yufuin Art Hall (2011). Selected group exhibitions include MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL (2024), East Asia Culture City – China-Japan-Korea Sculpture Invitational Exhibition (2023), 3331 Art Fair (2021), Art Fair Tokyo (2016), and the Fresh Air Sculpture Exhibition (UK, 2013). Since 2018, his drawings have been featured in monthly advertisements for iichiko (shochu).
Artist Statement -Short
Shinichi Kaneko investigates how the world comes into being through interconnectedness—the invisible structures that bind beings, phenomena, and actions together. As a visual and conceptual anchor, he draws upon the hands and feet depicted in ukiyo-e shunga, using them as a metaphor to explore how interaction and mutual influence generate reality.
His ongoing projects—Colors and Clouds, Awai – The Touch, Grab at a Cloud, and WAGO—approach interconnectedness from different distances and through different media, tracing its operation across perception, space, and form.
These ideas are further developed in the extended statement below, which traces the origins of this inquiry.
Statement -Extended
（参考資料：春画の手足）
These projects approach interconnectedness from different distances, media, and modes of perception.
Interconnectedness as Generative Structure
My work centers on interconnectedness—the unseen structure through which the world is continuously formed. Humans, objects, and phenomena do not exist independently; they emerge through constant interaction, mutual influence, and overlap. I am drawn to this generative structure and to the ways it can be rendered perceptible.
I am interested not in reality itself, but in the interconnectedness that brings reality into being. Invisible interactions bind everything together, continuously transforming what exists. At some point, this movement appeared before me as a complex and beautiful entanglement—as if shifting entities were engaged in a dance of intertwined existence.
Encounter with Shunga
As a point of entry into this inquiry, I reference the hands and feet depicted in ukiyo-e shunga. This began in 2013, when I encountered a book of shunga by chance. At the time, I was already working with the theme of interconnectedness, and the encounter was unexpectedly decisive.
Strangely, elements such as facial expressions or genital imagery receded from view, while the intertwined limbs alone came sharply into focus.
Limbs as Metaphor
What appeared before me was precisely the image I had been seeking. Through this accidental yet vivid perceptual experience, the limbs in shunga became a persistent metaphor in my practice.
In these images, hands and feet do not merely describe bodily movement or erotic action; they articulate connection itself. Limbs are drawn as if threads were tangled together, and through their crossings, overlaps, and points of contact, structure emerges. This way of depicting bodies strongly resonated with my understanding of interconnectedness.
Reconfiguration and Practice
Since 2013, I have continued to extract, reconstruct, and recontextualize these limbs across sculpture, painting, drawing, and installation. My aim is not to illustrate shunga, but to use its limbs as a means of visualizing how invisible interactions intersect and shape the world.
Within an ever-expanding network of entanglement, hands and feet mark points of contact—sites where forces meet, act upon one another, and give rise to form. In this way, they function as a metaphor for the structure of the world itself.
CV
Shinichi Kaneko
Contemporary Artist
Born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 1974
Lives and works in Kanagawa, Japan
Education
2001
M.F.A., Design, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
1999
B.F.A., Design, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
Teaching Experience
2001–2015
Part-time Lecturer, Department of Design,
Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
Solo Exhibitions
2025
Awai - The Touch, Okano Yayoi Shoten, Nishi-Asakusa, Tokyo
2025
INTERCONNECTED VIEW, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2025
Yume-Utsutsu, UltraSuperNew KURA, Shibuya, Tokyo
2024
Expressive Distance, ENTRANCE, Mitaka, Tokyo
2024
“To” – WITH – Relationship, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2023
Imitate the Cat, Welcome the Cat: Cats from Shunga and Maneki-neko of Shin-Yoshiwara, Okano Yayoi Shoten, Nishi-Asakusa, Tokyo
2023
Entangled to Catch the Untying, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2022
Teashi Meguri – Shunga-Shaped Hieroglyphs, Daikanyama Tsutaya Books, Tokyo
2022
Shinichi Kaneko Exhibition (Gallery Miyasaka Project), Galerie Chêne Tokyo, Ginza, Tokyo
2021
Mura GUJOsei, CREATIVE SPACE HAYASHI / 3331 ART FAIR, Chiyoda, Tokyo
2020
Human Patterns, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2019
The Couple Vol.5 – Dance of Entanglement, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2018
10-Second Play – Drawing Exhibition, Akane Lounge, Higashi-Nihonbashi, Tokyo
2017
The Couple Vol.4 – The Body Disappears, the Heart Rings, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2017
The Couple Vol.3, Okano Miyoshi Shoten × Kastori Shobo, Nishi-Asakusa / Senzoku, Tokyo
2016
Tour of the Adult Country 2016, CREATIVE SPACE HAYASHI / Art Fair Tokyo 2016, Tokyo
2016
The Couple Vol.2 – Connection, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2014
The Couple Vol.1 – The Mixed People, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2014
Forest of the Brain, CREATIVE SPACE HAYASHI, Chigasaki, Kanagawa
2013
Floating Body, Former Kondo Residence (Registered Tangible Cultural Property), Fujisawa, Kanagawa
2012
Teleport, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2011
The Most Attractive World: Memories Before Being Given Names and Meanings, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2011
What Can Be Seen in the Blink of an Eye, JR Yufuin Station Art Hall, Yufuin, Oita
2003–2010
Shinichi Kaneko Exhibition, Gallery Miyasaka and other venues, Tokyo
Group Exhibitions
2025
Weaving Scenery with Harmony, WALL_alternative, Nishiazabu, Tokyo
2023
East Asia Cultural City – China–Japan–Korea Sculpture Invitational Exhibition, Qingdao Sculpture Museum (Qingdao) and Weifang Art Museum (Weifang), China
2023
Small Works 2023, Galerie Chêne Tokyo, Ginza, Tokyo
2013
The 8th Katachi Exhibition, Tokyo University of the Arts, Ikeda Laboratory, Ueno, Tokyo
2012
Mitsukoshi × Tokyo University of the Arts Summer Arts Festival 2012 – Next-Generation Young Artists Exhibition, Mitsukoshi, Ginza, Tokyo
2011
Mitsukoshi × Tokyo University of the Arts Summer Arts Festival 2011 – Next-Generation Young Artists Exhibition, Mitsukoshi, Ginza, Tokyo
2011
SHOWCASE SHOW, MEGUMI OGITA GALLERY Showcase, Ginza, Tokyo
2008
DAIYA RING, Gallery Miyasaka, Ginza, Tokyo
2007
Leif.designpark 2nd Exhibition (sculpture and fixture design), Tokyo Design Center, Higashi-Gotanda, Tokyo
2007
SaloneSatellite, Milano Salone (sculpture and fixture design), Italy
2005
Shinichi Kaneko / Shinji Hongo – Our Room, ICHY’S GALLERY, Aoyama, Tokyo
2000
Small Sculpture Exhibition, Nihon Tochi Center Kaikan Midori-dori Gallery, Tokyo
2000–2005
Katachi Exhibition, Tokyo University of the Arts, Ikeda Laboratory, Ueno, Tokyo
Art Fairs
2025
MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2025 “Rediscovery”, Tennoz, Tokyo
2025
ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2025 , Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B, Fukuoka
2024
MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2024 “NEW ERA”, Tennoz, Tokyo
2021
3331 ART FAIR, with CREATIVE SPACE HAYASHI and 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo
2016
Art Fair Tokyo 2016, with CREATIVE SPACE HAYASHI, Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo
2013
Fresh Air 2013, Outdoor Sculpture Biennale, United Kingdom
Public Collections
2022
NPO Oritomari Popo Art Gallery, Hokkaido
Statue of Reunion
Awards
2018
Award of Excellence, 9th Haruhi Painting Triennale
2005
Selected Artist, 2nd Concrete Art Museum Exhibition
Publications / Media
2020
Interview, ANAGRA
https://www.a-n-d-now.tokyo/kaneko
Public Commissions / Commercial Work
Since 2018
Drawings featured in monthly advertisements for iichiko (shochu)
Projects -Series
Each project approaches interconnectedness from a different distance—
from perception and image, to space, body, and structure.
© KANEKO SHINICHI
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