Shukado presents a long-awaited solo presentation by Yasunari Ikenaga, who in the fifteen years since his debut has led the revival of bijinga in Japan.

Bijinga reached its height with Uemura Shoen before the war and then went quiet for some decades. With Ikenaga’s arrival, figure painting in the Nihonga tradition came suddenly back to life, and a generation of younger painters and collectors has grown up around it.

For his first solo presentation at Art Fair Tokyo, Ikenaga shows his most recent work, in which he is opening new ground. We hope you will look closely at a painter moving beyond the received image of bijinga.