[Tsuruoka City] Michinoku Breath Exhibition 2025 ~ Group Art Exhibition
BEKOA Co., Ltd. Press Release: September 3, 2025 [Tsuruoka City] Michinoku Breath Exhibition 2025 ~ Group Art Exhibition A group exhibition featuring works by six up-and-coming artists with ties to the Tohoku region will be held in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. BEKOA Co., Ltd. will hold a group exhibition on Sunday, September 14th and Monday, September 15th, 2025. BEKOA, a spatial design and art production company based in the Tohoku region, is holding this event to increase opportunities for artists from Tohoku to communicate and to broaden connections with people from other regions who have not previously had connections. The exhibition will also create opportunities for visitors to experience art more in their daily lives.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/168471/1/168471-1-b405876b550334a67e6bf4fd46afe5bd-3900×3900.png
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/168471/1/168471-1-9611273320fe01bb559cde241ae6010c-3900×3181.jpg Written by: Tadano Ayaka
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/168471/1/168471-1-65d253a16afbc5500c95fc3eb2a4dced-2026×2700.jpg Written by Tsuguon Takahashi
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/168471/1/168471-1-9a3eb34c783a003924037cba19772ad8-794×1280.jpg Written by Mikan Shimizu [Exhibiting Artist Profile] Shion Takahashi Born in 2002. Originally from Tagajo City, Miyagi Prefecture. Currently residing in Miyagi Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Lifestyle Art, Tohoku Seikatsu Bunka University in 2024. A watercolor painter who expresses the natural world, focusing on animals. Since childhood, he has suffered from hypersensitivity to sight and sound, and spends his days suffering from repeated fevers and poor health. The only place of peace he finds is nature, where he finds healing and calm, and gains the courage to live in human society. As a watercolor artist who paints various natural scenes, mainly animals, he strives to express nature as he senses its “nature” based on his deep feelings for it. Shimizu Mikan Born in Hokkaido / Resides in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture Graduated from the Department of Fine Arts, Faculty of Art, Western Painting Course, Tohoku University of Art and Design in 2022 Completed the Graduate School of Tohoku University of Art and Design, Department of Art and Culture, Painting Research Area, in 2025 Fascinated by the “moment of losing track of time” hidden in the light of dusk, Shimizu creates works based on the theme of “the texture of light.” Under an evening sky that takes on different colors every day, the ever-changing light blurs the interior of objects while leaving their outlines, raising questions about how we perceive existence. Focusing on the
multi-layered structure of perception from a neuroscience and philosophical perspective, the artist sees “outlines” as a “symbol of linguistic boundaries.” By layering multiple highly transparent layers mixed with mica and polarized pigments, the artist creates a surface that changes depending on the time of day and the viewpoint of the viewer, resonating with the light in the exhibition space. This transformation of light creates a contrast between the vague appearance of the motif’s interior and its clear outline, presenting the diverse ways of seeing that lie hidden within a single world. YUU.CONNECT Born in 1991. Originally from Nagano Prefecture / Currently living in Miyagi Prefecture Started activities as
YUU.CONNECT in 2021 Using chalk and oil pastels, he specializes in expressing texture and three-dimensionality on blackboards using techniques such as color mixing and blurring. He also uses a wide range of creative methods, including coffee drawings, pen drawings, and bottle painting. I create every day with the goal of “working closely with my clients, the exhibition venue, and the purpose of the event, thinking together to create something even better.” 〇shun Born in 1997. Originally from Nishiaizu, Fukushima Prefecture / Currently living in Hokkaido Graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University in 2020 Acrylic painter. With the theme of “transforming emotions into painting,” he expresses the emotions he feels with color. Currently based in Hokkaido, he is involved in contributing to the local culture through art and sports. Ayaka Tadano Born in 1992. Born and currently resides in Miyagi Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Japanese Painting, Faculty of Art and Design, Musashino Art University in 2016. Completed a Master’s degree in Art Education, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts in 2018. –Artist’s Message– I create paintings on Japanese paper using mineral pigments, silver leaf, glue, and other materials. While neither people’s lives nor nature remain the same, I try to paint new landscapes by gathering traces of hope amid change and loss. The values I have towards nature and scenery that influence my work began with my experience of the earthquake in my hometown. Even in an incredible world, there were moments of beautiful scenery. Finding these beautiful gave me hope for tomorrow and the future. The colors of the landscapes I paint represent the atmosphere when the world seemed sparkling, and the accumulation of time. While learning about the beautiful shapes and scenery of this world, I would like to paint and record landscapes that will bring hope to myself and others. Yu Sato Born in 1996. Originally from Miyagi Prefecture. Currently residing in Miyagi Prefecture. Graduated from Miyagi University of Education, Graduate School of Education, Department of Subject-Matter Education, Art Education, in 2021. –Artist’s Message– I create works using a technique called pyrography (woodburning). Pyrography is a technique in which wood is burned using a soldering iron-like device called an electric pen, creating images with the shades of charring that occur when wood is burned. I mainly use solid wood, and aim to create works that combine my own imagery with the beauty of wood itself, such as the grain, shape and colour, which are evidence that the wood has lived. My work depicts a woman and a butterfly. Depending on what you project onto the butterfly, the perspective and story will change for each viewer. I would be delighted if the work links to something in your own memories and a story is woven from it.