OKNP Busan and Gallery Target Tokyo together hold the first solo exhibition in Korea, “Happy Hour” of Yu Nagaba (1976~), who captivated people’s hearts around the world with artwork understated depiction from Nov. 23 to Dec. 24. As this exhibition is his first official solo exhibition in Korea, more than 80 artworks that he newly created for this exhibition (30 canvas paintings and 50 drawings) are presented, and various art goods such as hats and bags that he worked with are presented to welcome visitors.
Born in Tokyo in 1976, Yu Nagaba began his career as an illustrator at the magazine “POPEYE” after majoring in design at Tokyo Zokei University. The artist moved many people’s hearts by warmly capturing the characteristics of figures and objects with the understated and simple line of monotone, and he soon became an independent designer as he became widely known to people with his unique depiction. Since then, he has built a global reputation by collaborating with international brands such as Starbucks, Asics, and Columbia, as well as goods for the Louvre Museum in Paris. Perhaps because of such works, the prestigious Japanese magazine “ILLUSTRATION”, which first started publishing in 1979, dedicated the entire pages of the latest issue to “Yu Nagaba Special.” It was the first time in seven years that they designed a special issue for someone, which made people realize his competence.
While establishing his position as a designer, Yu Nagaba began working as a fine artist, holding a solo exhibition in a gallery with the same style of work in 2014. The exhibition was successful because of Yu Nagaba’s unique style, which people had never seen before, and the boundary between design and fine art was meaningless in front of his artwork. The artist was later invited to many solo exhibitions in various countries beyond Japan, including the United States, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Also, recently, the Lurf Museum Tokyo opened ambitiously to showcase a new sense and got attention by choosing Yu Nagaba for its opening exhibition. Currently, he works as an artist exclusively for Gallery Target Tokyo. Gallery Target is well known as a gallery that produces new star artists such as Ayako Rokkaku, one of the leading artists in the art market, as well as KYNE, Yusuke Hanai, and LY. Unlike Japan’s conservative galleries, Gallery Target, which values a young and unfamiliar sense, is a gallery that presents street art-based artists of the so-called “Urahara Generation” who led the trend of the global fashion market.
About Yu Nagaba’s aesthetics, which are loved at home and abroad across the realm of fine art and design, the critic Yuki Konno says it is “Taking out = Drawing (引くこと).” In other words, his understated depiction came from the “strategic of high-degree taking out,” and through this, it ” earns symbols and characteristics.” Such aesthetics resonate with the Japanese street art scene that became a sensation in the world’s fashion market. This exhibition is where OKNP presents Yu Nagaba, one of Japan’s new sensation leaders, together with Gallery Target. Yu Nagaba named the exhibition “Happy Hour.” It is because he wanted to remind busy and tired modern people that there are short but happy moments. It is hoped that the audiences will have a time with a warm message delivered by Yu Nagaba, especially for this time of the year when it gets cold while appreciating the exhibition.