2026.03.04 - 2026.03.28

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Us | Okumura Akifumi Solo Exhibition

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Exhibition Statement​

 

We all once held a soft, plush companion, growing up under its silent guardianship.

The small creatures in Akifumi Okumura's paintings still bear their unfaded fur, their eyes holding a look of dependence, as if refusing to step into complete adulthood, yet not remaining in infancy either. This ambiguous state is precisely a metaphor for human emotion—we need to rely on others, yet we also seek to grow.

 

Okumura employs the traditional medium of oil painting to create a tangible world of textures. His dedication to detail is almost devout: we can almost feel the softness of the fur, the coolness of the metal, the gentle warmth of the fabric. This is the magic of painting, and also the artist's tender gaze upon the material world. With hyperrealistic brushwork, Okumura summons these familiar forms onto the canvas; their eyes, the flow of their fur, even the marks of wear, are rendered with a precision that feels touchable. Yet, the backgrounds are materials that defy placement—dull matte paper, handwoven textiles. The painter depicts the most familiar subjects with the most realistic technique, only to place them within the most ambiguous spaces. Thus, a subtle tension arises between reality and fiction: the subjects are as clear as the most profound fragments of memory, while the backgrounds are as illusory as the edges of a dream.

 

Okumura creates a world where the virtual and the real intertwine. Realism is no longer merely about reproducing reality, but about granting fiction a credible weight. Those small creatures stand between the real and the unreal; they are both the tangible entities we once embraced and the souls that will never grow up. And that inexplicable feeling may well be the gentle tremor that rises in our hearts as we wander between reality and memory.

 

"My works are both another self of mine and another self for others." This statement perfectly encapsulates Okumura's emphasis on sharing. It is precisely for this reason that Okumura's images of "us" resonate with and deeply move so many people around the world. This exhibition marks Akifumi Okumura's first solo show in Hong Kong. We sincerely invite you to pause before these works and seek the traces of each other's growth.