This summer, the AAEF Art Center will present the exhibition The Relationship Between Anime and Contemporary Art, featuring works by ten contemporary Japanese artists: Shoko HIROSE, Eito, Ryo TESHIMA , Shingo IGUCHI, Shina SATO, Ouma, naomao nikki, Mirai MIZUE, Haruosaki, and Hiroki KURASAWA. The exhibition showcases more than 70 works across painting, installation, and animated video, exploring how elements of manga, anime, and other subcultural forms are transformed into a contemporary artistic language, continually shaping visual expression and social engagement.
Since the 1990s, manga and anime in Japan have evolved from fringe subcultures to integral components of mainstream culture. Their influence now extends beyond urban aesthetics and consumer culture, including museums, art fairs, and the art market. The narrative pace of manga, the stylized forms of animation, and the imaginative potential of fictional characters have inspired artists to develop new visual vocabularies and modes of perception. As artists like Takashi MURAKAMI and Tadanori YOKOO have long demonstrated through both their artistic practices and market success, these “subcultural” languages hold the potential to access the very core of contemporary art, and have become one of the most highly regarded areas within the global art market.
This exhibition aims to highlight how contemporary Japanese artists are appropriating and reinterpreting subcultural symbols to develop fresh visual idioms and critical perspectives. It also seeks to dissolve the boundaries between manga, anime, illustration, and fine art, offering multiply possibilities and creative paths “from subculture to popular art”.
Exhibition Highlights Include:
⚫ Shoko HIROSE’s Life in a PARALLEL world series, which combines digital output with hand-drawing to explore the deconstruction and rebirth of virtual characters, such as Hatsune Miku, within a contemporary art context.
⚫ Eito’s decorative, ultra-flat structures of densely layered dots and lines, resulting in abstracted, animation-style images.
⚫ Ryo TESHIMA presents works centered on his character “BABYBOY,” merging themes of cuteness and conflict to reflect the intersection of Japan’s “moe” culture and dystopian narratives.
⚫ Shingo IGUCHI’s character “Z CHAN” fuses Zen philosophy with virtual world aesthetics, offering an existential reflection.
⚫ Shina SATO employs manga-style storytelling structures to narrate the generational loneliness and hope experienced from a young girl’s perspective.
⚫ Ouma’s cellular theme uses biological metaphors to transform personal trauma into collective healing experience.
⚫ naomao nikki creates immersive installations centered on her white cat character “naomao,” offering a humorous yet sharp critique of the interplay between cuteness, commodification, gender, and consumerism.
⚫ Mirai MIZUE’s abstract animated short ETERNITY uses abstract images to depict the cyclical nature of the cosmos, delivering a sensory narrative that transcends verbal communication.
The exhibition also features emerging talents Haruosaki and Hiroki KURASAWA, graduates of Tokyo University of the Arts’ animation program. Drawing influence from Studio Ghibli and Disney, their work represents a new generation of artists who blend storytelling and experimentation within the aesthetics of animation. Their practices demonstrate the artistic potential of animation as a creative medium—proving it can transcend its entertainment roots to stand as a form of contemporary art.
Through its rich array of artistic languages and diverse modes of expression, The Relationship Between Anime and Contemporary Art invites a reevaluation of the role of visual subcultures within the broader field of contemporary art. It encourages audiences to reconsider the boundaries of artistic practice while revealing the complexity and potential of Japanese subculture as fertile ground for creativity. Despite their distinct approaches and aesthetics, all participating artists share a common ambition: to elevate subcultural expression into the realm of popular art. The convergence and contrast of their unique expressions not only result in a dynamic exhibition of styles but may also mark a significant moment in the emergence of a new artistic movement in contemporary Japan.
■Exhibition Overview
Theme: Anime VS. Contemporary Art
Duration: Saturday, July 26 – Sunday, August 31, 2025
Opening: Saturday, July 26 | 4 – 7 PM
Institution: AAEF ART CENTER
Co-sponsored by Tagboat
Curator: Qianhui MAO, Kenji TOKUMITSU
Producer: Shun
Address: 中国上海市青浦区朱家角镇酒龙路334号铜管厂文化创意产业园区8号楼
Official Website: https://aaefartcenter.art/
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaef_artcentre/
■Exhibition information and contact
Press Release Download: Click here to download
Media Contact: Xiaoyun CAO (aaef@shunartdesign.com)