Painter and mural artist known for precise hand-painted realism created with acrylics. Her work combines the human figure with ornamental motifs such as flowers, butterflies, and symbolic elements inspired by Japanese culture, exploring themes of emotion, memory, and the fragility of belief.
She began her artistic career with a solo exhibition in New York in 2010. From 2015 she expanded her activities internationally, living and working in the United Kingdom until 2017 while presenting solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Amsterdam.
Since 2019 she has also focused on mural projects. In Bangkok she initiated the SDGs-inspired art project “Art Can Help You,” which gathered 1,500 participants over three days at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC).
She currently explores the concept of “creating atmosphere through art,” focusing on how painting can shape and transform space.
◼️Maika Kobayashi
Born 1986, Tokyo, Japan
Based in Yamagata, Japan
◼️Education
2005 Graduated from Nihon University, Faculty of Psychology
2009 Tokyo Design Academy, Graduated (Top Honor Award)
◼️Selected Solo Exhibitions
2010 Ouchi Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, USA
2011 The Artcomplex Center of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2012 Shibata-cho Gallery, Osaka, Japan
2014 The Artcomplex Center of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2016 Gallery Guild, Tokyo, Japan
2017 Onishi Gallery, New York, USA
Shipton Street Gallery, London, UK
Majide Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018 Basement Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
Gallery Gei, Tokyo, Japan
Assort Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019 Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Tokyo, Japan
Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), Bangkok, Thailand
2021 Unknown Fantasy Land, Shibuya Marui, Tokyo, Japan
2023 Premonition, Yamagata, Japan
2024 Yamagata Four Seasons Album, Yamagata, Japan
◼️Selected Group Exhibitions
2016 Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, UK
2017 Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2018 Corey Helford Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
◼️Public Art & Murals
2014 Kanzashiya Wargo, Kyoto, Japan
2017 Kyubee, Kyoto, Japan
2019 Chigusaya (Tokyo), 417tea (Osaka), Rain and Lump (Sapporo)
2020 Shobido, Yamagata, Japan
2021 Takamiya Rurikura Resort, Zao Onsen, Yamagata (22-meter mural)
2022 Yamagata Station East Exit Pedestrian Deck, Yamagata, Japan
Roadside Station Yamagata Zao, Yamagata, Japan
◼️Performances & Collaborative Projects (Selected)
2018– Founder and Director of performance group KOOYA
2019 JAPAN EXPO Paris, France
2020 Haneda Airport International Terminal Edo Stage, Tokyo, Japan
2021–2023 Interdisciplinary collaborations including live painting with Japanese drums, orchestras, and regional cultural institutions
◼️Media Coverage (Selected)
Kahoku Shimpo Newspaper
Yomiuri Shimbun (New Year Edition)
Asahi Shimbun
Yamagata Television / YBC Yamagata Broadcasting / TUY TV Yamagata
Roundtable discussion with Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (2022)
◼️Artist Statement (Short)
Kobayashi’s practice explores the quiet strength within women, visualizing inner resolve, silence, and emotional structures through painting. Since relocating from Tokyo to Yamagata in 2021, she has developed a practice rooted in place while engaging with international exhibition contexts.
