Naomi Okubo: Resonance on a Surface
Exhibition Walkthrough with Fou Gallery
July 19, 2025
Special thanks to
Fou Gallery
Teasthetic
Beginning in the main gallery, He and Civil Art’s Editor-in-Chief Gabrielle Luu guided visitors into Okubo’s bright and highly patterned world. Visitors marveled at the intricate details of each artwork, and gained a deeper understanding of the integral relationship between the artist’s homemade garments and paintings. Reflecting Fou Gallery’s ethos of combining healing practices with artistic engagement, the tour transitioned into a tea reception in Teasthetic’s curated Tea Space. There, He facilitated a conversation around the art of tea appreciation, while also sharing her experience in creating a space centered on Asian and Pacific Islander (API) voices. Visitors sipped tea, exchanged thoughts with fellow participants, and engaged with both Echo and the Civil Art team in the spirit of community-building and thoughtful reflection.
Featuring vibrant acrylic paintings and hand-crafted garments, Resonance on a Surface continues Okubo’s exploration of home, intimacy, solitude, and escapism through intricately composed visuals. From William Morris’ wallpapers to scientific diagrams, the artist weaves together multiple disciplines into rich compositions that blend elements of Japanese culture with Western motifs. The exhibition also debuts her hand-crafted garments, an integral part of her creative process. Through the slow, labor-intensive work of constructing these unique pieces, Okubo challenges the rapid pace of globalized visual culture, grounding her surreal compositions in a tangible materiality.
Naomi Okubo is a Tokyo-born artist whose highly saturated paintings call on the viewer to reflect on hidden societal issues stored within. Fascinated with fashion and appearances, she draws on her adolescent experiences of growing up in Japan and uses patterns to simultaneously stand out and disappear, examining the roles of guise and decoration in human relationships. Her paintings are filled with motifs like birds, butterflies, and fish that connect to a colonial impulse: the human desire to gather, collect and understand everything. Okubo, the model for all her works, sits in botanical gardens or greenhouses as a metaphor for the human desire to find protection in small, controlled spaces, rather than confront what lies beyond the walls. While her work avoids overt messaging, it often evokes an uneasy duality, inviting introspection while subtly addressing themes of conformity, vulnerability, and self-perception. Okubo’s practice has garnered international recognition, with exhibitions across Japan, Europe, and the United States.
Read about Naomi Okubo’s Artist Index Interview
Video recorded and edited by
Seon Hong Hur