{"id":1240,"date":"2025-06-05T00:30:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T00:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/?p=1240"},"modified":"2025-06-07T15:04:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T15:04:21","slug":"installations-paintings-and-playful-sculptures-that-stand-out-at-osaka-art-design-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/05\/installations-paintings-and-playful-sculptures-that-stand-out-at-osaka-art-design-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"installations, paintings, and playful sculptures that stand out at osaka art & design 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

DESIGNBOOM EXPLORES OSAKA ART & DESIGN 2025<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Interactive sculptures<\/strong><\/a>, wearable statements, and color-shifting creatures take center stage across Osaka<\/strong><\/a>‘s urban landscape. As part of Osaka Art & Design 2025, running until June 24, artists and creatives from Japan<\/strong><\/a> and abroad present an exciting variety of exhibitions, installations, and site-specific works<\/strong><\/a> throughout the city. During our visit, designboom explored various locations \u2014 from Takuya Kumagai\u2019s playful capsule toy sculptures at W Osaka to Sayaka Miyata and Midori Hirota\u2019s embroidered world of wonder in the Umeda Twin Towers concourse. Scroll down to discover the projects that caught our attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Osaka Art & Design highlights in 2025 | all images courtesy of Osaka Art & Design<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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A SCULPTURE YOU CAN PLAY WITH LIKE A GACHA-GACHA TOY<\/b><\/h2>\n

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For his installation at the W Osaka hotel, Takuya Kumagai reimagines Japan\u2019s iconic capsule toy machines as 3D-printed sculptures in the form of \u2018<\/span>Play Sculpture (Gacha Gacha machine: Type-Atlas)<\/b><\/a>.\u2019 Guests can interact with the work just like they would with a real gacha machine \u2014 turning the dial, receiving a capsule, and discovering the miniature world inside. This sculptural playful experience introduces a layer of surprise to the design hotel lobby while referencing postwar artist Isamu Noguchi\u2019s concept of forms made for both play and contemplation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Takuya Kumagai \u2013 Play Sculpture (Gacha Gacha Machine:Type-Atlas)<\/p>\n

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AN EMBROIDERED MUSEUM OF BOTANICAL WONDER AND IMAGINATION<\/b><\/h2>\n

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In a collaborative public installation across the windows of the Hankyu Umeda Main Store, Sayaka Miyata and Midori Hirota unveil \u2018<\/span>The New Museum of Wonder: The Gene of Curiosity.<\/b><\/a>\u2019 Influenced by the fantastical illustrations of Ernst Haeckel, the artists construct imaginary organisms that evolve through the fusion of embroidery and AI. As if stepping into a natural history museum of the future, viewers encounter textile specimens that radiate color, texture, and tactile curiosity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sayaka Miyata \/ Midori Hirota \u2013 The New Museum Of Wonder: The Gene Of Curiosity<\/p>\n

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WEARABLE STORIES OF WOMANHOOD ROOTED IN TRADITION<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Inside Daimaru Shinsaibashi, Polish artist and designer Joanna Hawrot presents her latest collection \u2018<\/span>Unseen Threads<\/b><\/a>,\u2019 a cross-cultural collaboration merging Poland\u2019s textile traditions with the form and symbolism of the Japanese kimono. With designs developed in partnership with Polish artists and portrayed through intimate photographs by Zuza Krajewska, the garments become visual poems, each one exploring female identity through fabric, drape, and gesture. In the Osaka context, these wearable artworks, exhibited at Daimaru Shinsaibashi, serve as quiet yet powerful cross-border dialogue.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Joanna Hawrot \u2013 Hawrot: Wearable Art \u2013 Unseen Threads<\/p>\n

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POPS OF YOKAI JOY HIDDEN ACROSS THE CITY<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Humorous, otherworldly, and rooted in Japanese folklore, Maki Takato\u2019s \u2018<\/span>YOKAI UNITY<\/b><\/a>\u2019 brings a cast of modern, 3d-scanned yokai creatures into the streets and shopfronts of Osaka. Often seen in the corners of buildings or glowing from inside old houses, Takato\u2019s yokai are updated with contemporary expressions and textures, becoming vibrant symbols of life and memory. The installations suggest a new kind of landscape, one where the spirit world and daily routine coexist, reshaped by joy, absurdity, and the artist\u2019s playful approach to traditional mythology.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Maki Takato \u2013 Yokai Unity at Nankai Namba Station<\/p>\n

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EMERGING ART ENERGY FROM KYOTO TO OSAKA<\/b><\/h2>\n

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CAPS (<\/span>Contemporary Art Practice | Studio<\/b><\/a>) presents a sweeping group exhibition featuring faculty members, graduates, and current students from the Graduate School of Arts at Kyoto University of the Arts. Spanning video, painting, craft, sculpture, and conceptual installation, the works are displayed throughout various locations from the 1st to the 6th floors, as well as the exhibition hall on the 7th floor of Takashimaya Osaka. Curated by the artist-run space Yamanaka Suplex, the show brings together a broad range of artistic voices and fresh ideas, highlighting the next generation of Japanese contemporary art.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Caps: Contemporary Art Practice | Studio<\/p>\n

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A RAINBOW-COLORED BIRD LANDS AT OSAKA STATION<\/b><\/h2>\n

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Created by YAR and artist Kota Nakazono, \u2018<\/span>WATARIDORI<\/b><\/a>\u2019 is a luminous migratory bird glowing with rainbow hues, installed under the vaulted ceiling of Osaka Station\u2019s atrium. Made from dichroic film and responsive lighting, the suspended sculpture shifts color as people move around it, referencing the birds\u2019 ability to navigate by geomagnetism and starlight. It\u2019s both a visual beacon and an emotional anchor, connecting natural phenomena with a sense of festivity and global motion.<\/span><\/p>\n

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YAR and Kota Nakazono \u2013 Wataridori<\/p>\n

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PAINTINGS WHERE ARCHITECTURE BECOMES EMOTION<\/b><\/h2>\n

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For his first major solo exhibition in the Kansai region, painter Shotaro Sanada presents \u2018<\/span>New Landscape<\/b><\/a>\u2019 at the Hankyu Department Store Umeda Main Store. His works explore the vertical gravitas of nature and architecture, blending the flow of time with imagined forms that stretch between reality and fiction. Each painting becomes both a wall and a window, evoking cityscapes that feel both intimate and monumental.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Shotaro Sanada \u2013 Next Landscape<\/p>\n

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HYPERREAL FOOD SAMPLES THAT LOOK GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT<\/b><\/h2>\n

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At the Kintetsu Department Store Main Store Abeno Harukas, Iwasaki Co., Ltd. \u2013 a pioneer of Japanese food sample production since 1932 \u2013 presents the \u2018<\/span>New Food Sample Exhibition<\/b><\/a>,\u2019 showcasing a playful mix of hyper-realistic and imaginative replicas crafted by the company’s skilled technicians. Alongside a popularity vote and hands-on workshops, the exhibition also features past works and a photo corner designed for social media delight. More than novelty, it highlights a uniquely Japanese craft where visual storytelling and culinary culture intersect.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Iwasaki Co., Ltd. \u2013 New Food Sample Exhibition<\/p>\n

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CHAIRS, TABLES, AND TOOLS SHAPED BY TIME AND REPAIR<\/b><\/h2>\n

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At Maruni Osaka, \u2018<\/span>Manufacture: Allure of Tradition<\/b><\/a>\u2019 offers a fresh perspective on Maruni Wood Industry\u2019s craftsmanship and legacy. Drawing from over 90 years of history, the exhibition presents the company\u2019s approach to detailed construction, repair, and the use of recycled materials. By revisiting its archives and reinterpreting tradition, Maruni explores how high-quality furniture can stir the senses and speak to the heart, reconstructing heritage through a contemporary lens.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Maruni Wood Industry Inc. \u2013 Manufacture: Allure Of Tradition<\/p>\n

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CARTOON LOGIC MEETS CONTEMPORARY ART<\/b><\/h2>\n

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At Laugh & Peace Art Gallery, alan\u2019s solo exhibition \u2018<\/span>Re:Re:<\/b><\/a>\u2019 brings together works from his signature series \u2018[Under 50% + Point]\u2019 and a new body of abstract compositions. Known for layering elements from mass culture \u2013 such as existing artworks, logos, and characters \u2013 onto a single canvas, alan playfully challenges notions of originality. His latest pieces shift the focus toward color distribution and form, inviting viewers into a vibrant world where pop culture fragments into rhythm, hue, and reinterpretation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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alan \u2013 Re:Re:<\/p>\n

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project info:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

name:<\/b> Osaka Art & Design<\/span><\/a> 2025: <\/span>\u00a0<\/b>Overlaps \u2014Where Passions Encounter<\/span>
\n<\/span>areas:<\/b> Umeda, Dojima, Nakanoshima, Kyomachibori, Honmachi, Shinsaibashi, Namba, Abeno,\u00a0 and other areas in Osaka <\/span>
\n<\/span>dates:<\/b> May 28 \u2013 June 24, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

The post installations, paintings, and playful sculptures that stand out at osaka art & design 2025<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DESIGNBOOM EXPLORES OSAKA ART & DESIGN 2025   Interactive sculptures, wearable statements, and color-shifting creatures take center stage across Osaka‘s urban landscape. As part of Osaka Art & Design 2025, running until June 24, artists and creatives from Japan and abroad present an exciting variety of exhibitions, installations, and site-specific works throughout the city. During […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1240"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1251,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240\/revisions\/1251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.diamondstatemanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}