b. 1978 Osaka, Japan
Blueberry Riders, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 32 x 24 in., 81 x 61 cm.
Early Man 2, 2024, The Hole, New York, NY
Windy Game, 2023, acrylic and fabric on canvas, 47 x 59 in., 119 x 150 cm.
Art Professor, 2022, acrylic and fabric on canvas, 39 x 32 in., 99 x 81 cm.
Moko Moko Doki Doki, 2021, The Hole, New York, NY
Moko Moko, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 in., 122 x 91 cm.
Kuru Kuru Pom Pom, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 in., 122 x 152 cm.
Moko Moko (White), 2020, faux fur, felt, wood, steel, 24 x 24 x 10 in., 61 x 61 x 25 cm.
Pinecone Times, 2018, The Hole, New York, NY
Pero Pero, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches, 91 x 122 cm.
Cave Life, 2016, The Hole, New York, NY
A Broccoli Tale, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 32 x 24 inches, 80 x 60 cm.
Moko Moko Doki Doki, 2021, The Hole, New York, NY
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Misaki Kawai uses materials gathered from travels in Asia and abroad and incorporates them into her world of whimsy by turning drawings into paintings, sculptures into wall works, sketches into furniture, and transmitting simple materials into new characters. Playful, basic and repeated imagery inspires us to read shapes and forms in a new way and to see unexpected things in the everyday.
Kawai’s practice runs the gamut of media, taking shape on canvas, in freestanding sculpture, on wall-mounted papier-mâché constructions and on the smiling pet rocks she sells on her website. Regardless of medium, Misaki’s work gently but incisively prods at the bizarre minutiae of contemporary culture, lampooning it with a disarming sweetness. Misaki’s work was in two exhibitions last year at The Hole, Booby Trap, and her own solo show, Cave Life, as well as in group shows at Dio Hora in Greece and Flower Pepper Gallery in California.
misaki kawai
Misaki Kawai and works between New York & Osaka
2022
select solo exhibitions
Needles and Pins, The Mass, Tokyo, Japan
2024
The Cuteness Factor, Ludwig Múzeum, Budapest, Hungary (curated by Jan Elantkowski & Maj Ajna)
2023
Onions, Outpost, Copenhagen, Denmark (curated by Anna Clarisse Holck Wæhrens)
2023
Hairy Tales, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2023
Moko Moko Doki Doki, The Hole, New York, NY
2021
Moja Moja Life: Misaki Kawai for Kids NGV Triennial 2020, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
2020
Off The Wall, Hudson Yards, New York, NY
2019
Paper Party, Tokyo Art Book Fair GINZA EdITION, Ginza Sony Park, Tokyo, Japan
2019
Cygnus Loop, Gallery Baton, Seoul, South Korea
2019
Downtown Painting, Peter Freeman, Inc., New York, NY
2019
Pine Cone Times, The Hole, New York, NY
2018
Romantic Melody, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017
Cave Life, The Hole, New York, NY
2016
Hair Show, The Hole, New York, NY
2013
Mt. Pom Pom, Children’s Museum of the Arts, New York, NY
2012
Big Bubble, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden
2011
Wet Shiny Surprise, Galleri Loyal, Malmö, Sweden
2011
Nice Bang, Furnetto, Lucerne, Switzerland
2011
Pencil Exercise, Take Ninagawa, Tokyo, Japan
2011
Project N 43, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2010
Homeland 2020, Take Ninagawa, Tokyo, Japan
2009
Kung Fu Forest, LaMontagne Gallery, Boston, MA
2009
Outdoor Club, Paul Bright, Toronto, Canada
2008
Fancy Pants, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2008
Kimagure Float, Take Ninagawa, Tokyo, Japan
2008
Fuzzy Love, Galleri Loyal, Stockholm, Sweden
2007
Momentum 7, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA (curated by Emily Moore Brouillet)
2007
Big Break, Perugi Artecontemporanea, Padova, Italy
2007
Tiger Punch, Clementine Gallery, New York, NY
2007
Mars Investigation Laboratory, Kantor / Feuer Window, New York, NY
2005
Kuru Kuru Jet, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2004
Community Park, Kenny Schachter Contemporary, New York, NY
2004
Sun Park, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
2003
Octopus Pier, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, NY
2003
Misaki Kawai, Kenny Schachter Contemporary, New York, NY
2003
Air Show, Kenny Schachter ConTEMPorary, New York, NY
2002
Garbage Room, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA
2002
select group exhibitions
Early Man 2, The Hole, New York, NY
2024
Storage Wars, The Hole, Los Angeles, CA
2023
Title IX, The Hole, New York, NY
2023
15, Take Ninagawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo
2023
Into the Vortex, The Pit x The Hole, Palm Springs, CA
2023
Good Morning DK, Nassima Landau Art Foundation, Tel Aviv
2023
V1 XX, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen
2022
Interior Dialogues, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen
2022
New Construction, The Hole, Los Angeles, CA
2022
Can’t Wait to Meet You, Primary, Miami, FL
2021
Lampadephoria, VI Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2021
Paper View, The Hole, New York, NY
2019
MINE II, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018
VOLTA 14 , V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018
SerpantiForm, Tokyo City View, Tokyo, Japan (curated by BVLGARI)
2017
MINE, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017
SerpantiForm, ArtScience Museum, Singapore (curated by BVLGARI)
2017
Horses, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017
Melted City 4, ISB Gallery, Providence, RI (curated by Louie Cordero and Jordan Isip)
2017
Melted City 3, Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines (curated by Louie Cordero and Jordan Isip)
2017
Greek Gotham, Dio Horia, Mykonos, Greece (curated by Maria Brito)
2016
Keep It Together, Flower Pepper Gallery, Pasadena, CA (curated by Mark Todd)
2016
Character, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2016
Booby Trap, The Hole, New York, NY
2016
Powerful Babies: Keith Haring’s Impact on Artists Today, Spritmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden (curated by Bill Arning and Rick Herron)
2015
Tiger Tiger, Salon 94, New York, NY
2015
Outta Town Sht,* Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York, NY (curated by Nina Chanel Abney)
2015
She Sells Seashells by the Seashore, Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY
2015
Post-Analog Painting, The Hole, New York, NY
2015
Woman House, Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY (curated by Eric Firestone and Michelle Tillou)
2015
Playmaking, The Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, Kagawa, Japan
2014
This Is Not A Toy, The Design Exchange, Toronto, Canada (created by Pharrell Williams)
2014
More Material, Salon 94, New York, New York, NY (curated by Duro Olowu)
2014
Early Man, The Hole, New York, NY
2014
Tee Pee Project, Eric Firestone Gallery, East Hampton, NY (curated by Eric Firestone and Michelle Tillou)
2014
Where To Go, MUJI to go kitte, Tokyo, Japan
2013
Area, The Hole, New York, NY (curated by Jeffrey Deitch)
2013
Japanese Artists in New York, Marunouchi House, Tokyo, Japan
2013
Anxiety, The NY Times, New York, NY
2013
Draw Gym, 247365, Brooklyn, NY
2013
Chicken Or Beef? A Transcontinental Survey of Figurative Painting, The Hole, New York, NY
2013
The Big Bang, The Watermill Center, Water Mill, NY
2012
Fun, Riihimäki Art Museum, Riihimäki, Finland
2012
Permanent Collection, Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY
2012
Friends & Family, Kenny Schachter / ROVE Projects LLP, London, U.K.
2012
Casa de Empeno, Anonymous Gallery, New York, NY
2012
75 Artists in 75 Years, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
2011
Status – Somewhere Between Position and Condition, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2011
In the Garden, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, Australia
2011
Face Maker, Royal / T Art Space, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Kathy Grayson)
2011
International Exhibitions / Fumetto, Luzern, Switzerland
2011
Mutant Pop, Loyal, Malmö, Sweden
2010
Insider/Outsider, Portugal Arte 10, Lisbon, Portugal
2010
Not Quite Open For Business, The Hole, New York, NY
2010
Album, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010
The Cheaper Show, No. 9, W2 Storyeum, Vancouver, Canada
2010
FIAC, Take Ninagawa, Paris, France
2010
Happily Unhappy, Blanc Compound, Mandaluyong, Phillipines
2010
I Believe: Japanese Contemporary Art, The Museum of Modern Art, Toyama, Japan
2009
Visions of the Frontier, Institute Valenciá d’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain
2009
The Overlooked Space, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, Manitoba (curated by Paul Butler)
2009
Wild Feature, Galerie Zürcher, New York, NY (curated by Brian Belott)
2009
Wild Feature 2, Galerie Zürcher, Paris, France (curated by Brian Belott)
2009
Flight of Fancy, Kenny Schachter / ROVE, London, U.K.
2009
I Can’t Feel My Face, Royal/T Art Space, Los Angeles, CA (curated by KAWS)
2009
15 Year Anniversary, New Image Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009
Playing Around, Brattleboro Museum, Brattleboro, VT
2009
Last Second First – Narrative Art for the New Century, ISB Gallery, Providence, RI (curated by Jordin Isip)
2008
Mail Order Monsters, Max Wigram Gallery, London, U.K.
2008
The Lords, David Lawrence, Los Angeles, CA
2008
Fun House, Park Life, San Francisco, CA
2008
Just It (Just Be), Galleri Opdahl, Stavanger, Norway
2008
Panorama Project, Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Return to Sender, Krets, Malmö, Sweden
2008
I Won’t Grow Up, Cheim & Read, New York, NY
2008
Everything Else, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Wet ’n’ Wild, Kim Light Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008
Move 16, Cinders Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (curated by Rich Jacobs)
2008
Object Salon, Honey Space, New York, NY; White Space Gallery, London, U.K. (curated by Bob Nickas, Kathy Grayson, Pascal Spengemann, Brooke Geahan and Thomas Beale)
2008
Kunst Gruppe, Werkstätte, New York, NY
2008
Kawai Misaki & Tao Soju, Gallery J-Chen, Taipei, Taiwan
2008
Those Bloody Yanks, Leonard Street Gallery, London, U.K.
2007
Hey You Guyyyys, Community Outreach Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2007
Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York, Japan Society, New York, NY
2007
Gallery Artist, Take Ninagawa, Tokyo, Japan
2007
Sporty Club GR2, Giant Robot, Los Angeles, CA
2007
Red Hot: Asian Art Today from the Chaney Family Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
2007
Animal Wrestling, Kinzelman ArtCounsulting, Houston, TX
2007
Art Under Glass, Macy’s, Herald Square, New York, NY (curated by Gabrielle Bryers)
2007
Homegrown, David Krut Projects, New York, NY (curated by Renee Riccardo)
2007
Not only A, but B, Transformer Gallery, Washington DC (curated by Atsuko Ninagawa)
2007
Paper Trails – New Adventures in Drawing, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007
I Love Tourism, organized by Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Galleria di Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy
2007
Look Behind You, Giant Robot, New York, NY
2007
These Bagels Are Gnarly, Cinders Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (curated by Rich Jacobs)
2007
Five Painters, Galleri Loyal, Stockholm, Sweden
2007
Guy Ben-Ner & Misaki Kawai, TAKEFLOOR 404&502, Tokyo, Japan
2006
Unwrapping the Wing, Invisible Museum, Denver, CO (curated by Devon Dikeou)
2006
Boro-Boro and Doro-Doro, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2006
Art Parade, organized by Deitch Project, New York, NY
2006
A Thousand Things, MU Museum, Eindhoven, Netherlands (curated by 2K by Gingham)
2006
Collage Party, ZieherSmith Gallery, New York, NY
2006
Waves, Mollusk Surf Shop, San Francisco, CA (curated by Marsea Goldberg)
2006
It’s a Beautiful Day, Ise Cultural Foundation, New York, NY (curated by Paul Laster and Renee Riccardo)
2006
Don’t Abandon the Ship, Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston, MA (curated by Eddie Martinez)
2006
The Studio Visit, Exit Art, New York, NY
2006
Mars Investigation Laboratory, Kantor / Feuer Window, New York, NY
2006
Live Through This, Miami Design Direct, Miami, FL (organized by Deitch Projects)
2005
Tiger Drip, Galleri Loyal, Stockholm, Sweden
2005
Loyal and His Band, Galleri Loyal, Stockholm, Sweden
2005
Dear New Girl or Whatever Your Name Is, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005
Hanging By a Thread, Moore Space, Miami, FL (curated by Nina Arias and Jose Diaz)
2005
No Bones About It, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA
2005
MOVE #13, Clementine Gallery, New York, NY (curated by Rich Jacobs)
2005
Greater New York 2005, P.S.1 MoMA, New York, NY
2005
The New Image Art Show, RVCA, Los Angeles, CA
2005
Five Artist Show, Kenny Schachter/ROVE, London, U.K.
2004
Trunk of Humours, Deitch Projects, New York, NY (curated by Kathy Grayson)
2004
Majority Whip, White Box, New York, NY
2004
The Hunt For Your Family, Odd Number, Stockholm, Sweden (curated by Loyal at V1 Copenhagen)
2004
Becoming Giants, Le Roy Neiman Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY (curated by Camila Marambio)
2004
Special Projects Fall 2003, P.S.1 MoMA, New York, NY
2003
Sun Park, Inman Gallery, Houston, TX
2003
Baby You Can’t Drive My Car, Cooper Classics, New York, NY (curated By Kenny Schachter)
2003
Art Band, Capitale, New York, NY (curated By Kenny Schachter)
2003
Lead Poisoning, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Rich Jacobs and Marsea Goldberg)
2003
Funny Cry Happy, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA
2003
Crazy Bastard, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Marsea Goldberg)
2003
Collective Conscous, Mavi, New York, NY (curated by Scenic)
2003
Tensionism, Kenny Schachter/Rove, New York, NY (curated by Kenny Schachter)
2002
Dime Bag, New Image Art, LA & The Front Room, Brooklyn, NY (curated by Jordin Isip and Rodger Stevens)
2002
Super Hero, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Marsea Goldberg)
2002
Panorama, San Francisco & The Front Room, Brooklyn, NY (curated by Jordin Isip and Rodger Stevens)
2002
Mica & Misaki, Transformer, Washington D.C. (curated by Victoria Reis and Jayme McLellan)
2002
The Exquisite Day Project, Plus Ultra, Brooklyn, NY (curated by Jording Islip and Rodger Stevens)
2001
Move East, One Pixel, Philadelphia, PA (curated by Rich Jacobs)
2000