Head Wearing A Hat (An optical illusion of a Picasso's Painting)

AISHO are pleased to present “The Spring,” a new solo exhibition by Saburo Mikawa, marking his first exhibition at our Tokyo space. The exhibition will be held from February 13 to March 14.

Saburo Mikawa was born in Saitama Prefecture in 1987. After attending an art class in his early childhood, he has continued to work with oil painting as a self-taught artist. Mikawa’s works are characterized by a lyrical worldview in which figures quietly stand within twilight-like landscapes, as well as by his distinctively deformed human forms. In recent years, his practice has expanded from primarily domestic presentations to international stages such as London, Korea, and Hong Kong. He has also actively collaborated with fashion brands and corporations, earning growing recognition both in Japan and abroad.

The poses and objects held by the figures in Mikawa’s paintings reference homages to Western classical painting, while also reflecting his inner world shaped by influences from street culture such as kung fu films and skateboarding. In his recent works, the figures uniformly wear clothing with reflective materials, and at times are depicted with soundproof earmuffs or impact drivers, suggesting engagement in hazardous forms of labor. Among these, the recurring “Fire Man” series holds particular significance for the artist. Mikawa describes the firefighter motif as a symbol of salvation—an anthropomorphization of positive thoughts and compassion when confronting the inner flames of anxiety, fear, impatience, and pressure that arise during the creative process.

In “The Spring,” Mikawa presents new paintings centered on The Spring, a work created as an homage to Picasso, whom the artist regards as the origin of his first encounter with the allure of art during childhood. In preparation for this exhibition, Mikawa traveled in the summer of 2025 to Málaga, Picasso’s hometown in Spain, as well as to Morocco, a place he had long been interested in visiting. By directly engaging with Picasso’s formative landscapes and with primitive and folk art such as African masks, he began a new phase of exploration while reflecting on his own artistic roots.

The exhibition will debut several new series, including the Optical Illusion series, which expresses forms generated through visual misinterpretations of Picasso’s paintings; a newly composed Fire Man series influenced by the colors and patterns of African masks; and The Spirit series, inspired by African sculpture.