Never could be any other way — anagnorisis

Kenjiro Okazaki's first UK solo exhibition features abstract paintings, sculptures, and small-scale works exploring temporality and perception through color, form, and poetic language.

Why go

Okazaki's multi-panel acrylic paintings use 'giornata' (day's work) units separated by months, creating contingent color relationships that unfold through sustained looking. His long narrative titles function as autonomous sequences that interrupt visual logic, producing layered networks of meaning—a practice grounded in his theoretical work on tim

What to expect

Large-scale diptychs and quadriptychs of thickly daubed acrylic paint; intimate Zero Thumbnail works (begun 2005) in handmade wooden frames with cut apertures; three resin and synthetic marble sculptures bearing marks of compression and fracture. The exhibition spans works from 2024–2026.

Things to know

• First-ever solo exhibition in the UK, at Pace Gallery London, June 5–August 7, 2026.
• Artist's forthcoming book 'The Discovery of Art: Conditions for Living in the AI Era' published June 26, 2026 by Film Art-sha.
• Okazaki recovered from a stroke in 2021; rehabilitation theory informs his conception of time and form-making.
• Concurrent solo presentation 'Tender Buttons' opens at Naoshima New Museum of Art, Japan, June 7, 2026.
• Nakatsukuni Lykeion, a new museum designed by Okazaki, opens later in 2026 in Haizuka, Hiroshima Prefecture.
• Titles draw on poetry, literature, music, and visual culture; gaps between brushstrokes emphasize contingency, echoing Cézanne's influence.