Sanada Shotaro's Solo Exhibition 'FOR' at Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 Minutes

Sanada Shotaro's New Solo Exhibition 'FOR'

Starting January 31, 2026, the Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 Minutes will host the latest solo exhibition by the talented artist Sanada Shotaro, marking the 15th installment of the gallery's exhibitions.

Born in 2000, Sanada has quickly gained recognition in the art world. He is a recipient of the Art Olympia 2022 award and the Best Debutant of the Year 2025. His stunning murals can be seen at major train stations like JR Nagano and Ueno, and he has contributed artwork for companies like Google Japan. His work continues to garner praise for its innovative approach to abstract painting, interpreted through the themes of time and gravity in our modern information environment.

The exhibition 'FOR' seeks to connect the contemporary symbol of 'scrolling' with the vertical brushstroke of painting. In our daily lives, we often find ourselves reaching for our smartphones as soon as we wake up, continuously scrolling with our thumbs. Sanada transforms this unconscious bodily motion into strokes on canvas, offering a fresh perspective on 'gravity' and 'time', while presenting a 'new landscape' within our digital society.

Attendees will see some of Sanada's largest canvas pieces to date, alongside a unique curation process that showcases the artist's creative and thought-provoking journey. This is a rare chance to engage with the artist's work and process in person.

Exhibition Statement

The reality of modern life is characterized by notifications and scrolling; we often recall the brightness of our screens more vividly than the hues of the sky. My motivation to create art stems from the desire to reflect the chaotic nature of today's society, painting the 'new landscape' that emerges from it. The act of scrolling with my thumb can inversely represent the vertical strokes in my paintings.

Invisible fears and a fast-paced lifestyle can create barriers that disconnect us from others. Factors like the pandemic, economic anxieties, and social media trends transform not just landscapes but also our manner of engaging with them. I aspire to bridge these gaps through my artwork, driven by a desire to create a 'new landscape' for our times.

Located near the iconic Tokyo Station, the Kyobashi area serves as a meeting point for travelers—businesspeople, tourists, and locals. Just as a bridge once connected both sides of a river, the modern underpass of Kyobashi features railways and roads converging, with towering structures above. It is this 'transfer scenery' that inspires me to explore another type of 'vertical movement' on canvas.

I rely on the long-lasting impression of gravity as it shapes our daily existence. This gravity does not pertain solely to falling apples but evokes the pull towards work, home, or a moment of contemplation over a screen. I wish to encapsulate these everyday downward motions within my art. A crucial insight for me has been the realization that 'landscapes extend vertically.' Trees grow upwards while roots anchor downwards. The repetitive motion of scrolling serves as my brushstroke.

These creations, collectively referred to as 'Landscapes', feature large abstract canvases that symbolize the evolving nature of reality by its very structure. While the brushwork, colors, and compositions are planned, the unpredictability of the painting process—the blurs, spills, remixed colors—imbue the works with life and determine their ultimate direction.

This exhibition will display not only the final works but also the unrefined, fragmented journey leading up to those pieces. Visitors can expect to find canvases that faced challenges, color experiments discarded, and minor trials that normally remain hidden in the artist's studio—brought into the light.

At the heart of the exhibition is a café counter selling bread and coffee, providing a unique twist. Positioned just an 8-minute walk from Tokyo Station, this central platform allows visitors to engage with the exhibition at their own pace, be it studying the art closely or casually enjoying a coffee while tracing the brushstrokes with their eyes.

I aim to incorporate the simple, yet profound act of witnessing a landscape over a bite to eat, making it an integral part of this exhibit.

My paintings serve as both a wall and a window, creating new connections between reality and fiction. The exhibition will present not just polished works but also the imperfections and the accessible traces of the creative journey, including fingerprints and smudges. If you come across breadcrumbs scattered about, consider them as an echo of the scenery of life today.

The interplay between final pieces, incomplete fragments, and the mingling scents of coffee and baked goods allows for a unique opportunity to explore undefined feelings and visuals within ourselves as they unfold.—Sanada Shotaro

Exhibition Products

To celebrate 'FOR', exclusive merchandise designed by Haya Miyoko, who co-leads the creative team KAKKAKU with Sanada, will be available at Gallery & Bakery Tokyo.

This is a splendid opportunity to bring part of the exhibition home with you.

Information

- Exhibition Dates: January 31, 2026 - March 3, 2026
- Venue: Gallery & Bakery Tokyo 8 Minutes, 1-7-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0031
- Hours: 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
- Entry Fee: Free
- Access: 3-minute walk from Kyobashi Station (Ginza Line)