Born in 1976 in Saitama, Japan
Lives and works in Japan
Painter, illustrator, sci-fi writer and manga artist, AYA TAKANO is inspired by all art forms, from erotic stamps of the Edo Period to impressionism, from Osamu Tezuka to Gustav Klimt. The artist has built a universe all her own. A universe made of infinite worlds, all means of escaping reality, gravity and its restraints, to attain a certain form of transcendence.
AYA TAKANO’s inner journeys wind their way into delicate works that convey a disturbing impression, somewhere between eroticism and impertinence. In a bedroom or in the metro, in front of the skyscrapers of a megalopolis or on the moon, naïve and androgynous girls are sketched out in thin, sharp lines. The artist’s mythology has constructed itself little by little, through her creations and visions of the unknown. In March 2011, a violent tsunami struck the northeastern coasts of Japan and led to the nuclear accident of Fukushima. A real wake-up call for the artist, this catastrophe deeply influenced her work. Preferring oil paint, which is more natural, to acrylic paint, for example, AYA TAKANO seems to pursue a new artistic quest, both humble and spiritual, influenced by a unique interest in science and guided by an absolute respect for nature and human life.
solo shows
2023
- New Myth, Musée d'Art Contemporain de Lyon, Lyon, France
2022
- thank you world, you now look a little bit like a wonderland, Perrotin, Shanghai, China
2021
- beginning, liminal, ego, Perrotin, Hong Kong
2020
- Let's make the universe a better place, Perrotin, Seoul, South Korea
2019
- Unio Mystica, Galerie Perrotin New York, USA
2017
- The Jelly Civilization Chronicle, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
- Synesthesia, Pavillon Bosio, École Supérieure d'Arts Plastiques, Monte Carlo, Monaco
2015
- The Ocean Inside, The Flowers Inside, Johyun Gallery, Busan, South Korea
2014
- La Maison d'Aya BIBO, Hong Kong
2012
- Heaven Is Inside Of You, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong
- To Lose Is To Gain, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France
2011
- Stars, flowers and honeynight, SieboldHuis, Leiden, Netherlands
2010
- The Universe Portal, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan
- AYA TAKANO, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden Baden, Germany
- Hong Kong Art Fair, Booth Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Hong Kong
2009
- Reintagrating Worlds, Skarstedt Gallery, New York USA
2008
- Toward Eternity, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
2007
- Tradition and modernity, curated by Hélène Kelmachter, Miro Foundation, Barcelona.
- Wild dogs, hawks, owls, cats, a landfill the size of 44 and a half Tokyo Domes, the stratosphere, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Miami, USA
2006
- City Dog, Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Parco Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
2005
- Frieze Art Fair, London, United Kingdom
- The Far Reaches of The Universe, My Garden, Blum & Poe Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
2004
- AYA TAKANO, a web project for Digital Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA
- Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake, 2004-5 Autumn Winter Collection, Paris, Tokyo (collaboration)
2003
- Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
2002
- Space Ship EE, nanogalerie, Paris, France
2000
- Hot Banana Fudge, NADiff, Tokyo, Japan
1997
- SHU WA KIMASERI, shop33, Tokyo, Japan
group shows
2024
- JANUS, Palazzo Diedo, Venice, Italy (permanent installation)
- CUTE, Somerset House, London, United Kingdom
2022
- Roppongi Art Night Group Show. Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Head in the Clouds, Perrotin Tokyo, Japan
2021
- Apple Cycle / Cosmic Seed, Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art, Hirosaki, Japan
- 2021 Kaikai Kiki Autumn Show, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Healing, Perrotin, Shanghai, China
2020
- Healing, Perrotin Matignon, Paris, France
- Healing, Perrotin, Seoul, South Korea
- Kaleidoscopes: Contemporary Portraiture, Perrotin, Hong Kong
2019
- A Passion for Drawing. The Guerlain Collection from the Centre Pompidou Paris, Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria
- MURAKAMI VS MURAKAMI, Takashi Murakami's solo show, Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong
- 2019 Kaikai Kiki Summer Show, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo
2018
- Bubblewrap, Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan
- Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics, Villa Reale, Monza, Italy
- Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, France
2017
- Murakami by Murakami, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway
- Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy
- Japanorama. A new vision on art since 1970, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France
2015
- Animamix Biennale, Daegu Art Museum, South Korea
2014
- Bishojo: Young Pretty Girls in Art History - 16 Perspectives for Studying the Idea of the bishojo, Aomori Museum, Aomori City, Japan
2010
- Kyoto-Tokyo: From Samurais to Mangas, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco
- Garden of Painting Japanese Art of the 00s, The National Museum of Art, Osaka
2009
- The Very Bottom Of The Air, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Winter Garden, Hara Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- VRAOUM, La Maison Rouge, Paris, France
2008
- AYA-Chiho-Drive, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Quando vidas se tornam forma - Panorama da arte contemporanea brasileira e japonesa, Museum of Modern Art, San Paolo, Brazil / Museum Oscar Niemeyer, Curitiba, Brazil
- Kaikai Kiki Artists, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2007
- Kawaii! Japan now, Fundation Joan Miro, Barcelona, Spain
- The Door to Summer, Art Tower Mito, Mito, Japan
2006
- Spank the Monkey, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom
- Etoile, Xavel, Inc. (Virtual department store design)
- AYA TAKANO, Chiho Aoshima, Chinatsu Ban Exhibition, Mizuho Oshiro Gallery, Kagoshima, Japan
- Chiho Aoshima, Mr., Aya Takano, Musé d'Art Contemporain, Lyon, France
2005
- Kaikai Kiki Exhibition, Aoi Gallery, Osaka, Japan
- Japan Pop, Helsinki Museum of Art, Helsinki, Finland
- The Sensual Line, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, Japan Society, New York, USA (curated by Takashi Murakami)
- MTA Subway Poster Design, Public Art Fund and Japan Society, New York, USA
- What's Good Conference, Hong Kong Art Centre, Hong Kong (Lecture), China
- Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
2004
- T-Junction, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
- Fiction. Love: Ultra New Vision in Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan
- Chiho Aoshima, Mr., AYA TAKANO, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin at LFL Gallery, New York, USA
- Tokyo Girls Bravo, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, USA
2003
- Girls Don't Cry, Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake, Tokyo (collaboration), Japan
- Hope-The Future is in Our Hands, LaForet Harajuku, Tokyo
2002
- The Japanese Experience - Inevitable, Das Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Tokyo Girls Bravo 2, NADiff, Tokyo, Japan
- Chiho Aoshima, AYA TAKANO, Mr., Takashi Murakami, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France
2001
- Superflat, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, USA
- Hiropon Show, White Cube Gallery, London, United Kingdom; Shinsaibashi Parco, Osaka, Japan
- Yokai Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2000
- Superflat (curated by Takashi Murakami), Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1999
- Tokyo Girls Bravo, NADiff, Tokyo; Parco Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- Hiropon Show, Parco Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
- Hiropon 32/80, NADiff, Tokyo, Japan
1998
- Ero Pop Christmas, NADiff, Tokyo, Japan
- Hiropon Show, George’s, Los Angeles, US
1997
- Hiropon Show, shop33, Tokyo; Iwataya Z-side, Fukuoka, Japan
- Hiropon Show, Manken Gallery, Kanazawa, Japan
