Light and shadow inside me

2021–, Aqueous dye on paper, faded by exposure to sunlight/
2022–, Gelatin silver print (photogram)

This series of two-dimensional works comprises two types: greenish-blue pieces made by folding a single sheet of watercolor paper into a polyhedral form, exposing it to sunlight, and unfolding it; and black-and-white photograms created in the same way with silver gelatin photographic paper in the darkroom, exposed to a single light source. Using this method—capturing “only the light and shadow inherent to the object itself”—the gradations of light and shadow are fixed onto the paper...

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Place of creation: Eugene Atelier iii (Japan)

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Atelier iii, located near Tokyo, is a lush, green space—designed and DIY-built by Kangawa and his team. Covering about 700 m², it houses works in progress, collection pieces, and occasionally new series. Roughly an hour’s drive from central Tokyo, Atelier iii sometimes opens to the public when the artist is away.

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COLLABORATION

Collaboration:
A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE × Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO
Light and shadow inside me Series
A Special Exhibition — Spatial Design by Tsuyoshi Tane
PARIS

Excerpt — A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE
“During this year’s fourth edition of Art Basel Paris, A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE will present a special exhibition in collaboration with Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO. The spatial design will be directed by architect Tsuyoshi Tane.”

The exhibition introduces TYPE-XIV Eugene Studio project, the latest initiative inspired by Kangawa’s acclaimed series Light and shadow inside me.
This series comprises two types: greenish-blue works made by folding a single sheet of coated watercolor paper into a polyhedral form, exposing it to sunlight, then unfolding it; and black-and-white photograms made in the same way on silver-gelatin photographic paper, exposed to a single light source. In the artist’s large, self-built darkroom, single sheets of photographic paper are hand-scored with straight fold lines—for example, up to 3m long—and folded into 48-sided forms before exposure. Using this method—capturing “only the light and shadow inherent to the object itself”—the gradations of light and shadow are fixed onto the paper…

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ATELIER

EUGENE Atelier iii
2020–

Eugene Kangawa’s studio, Atelier iii, near Tokyo, is run with a diverse team of specialists. The lush, green space—designed and DIY-built by Kangawa and his team—is, in his words, one of his most important places.
It offers settings from bright, naturally lit areas to darker, enclosed spaces. Covering about 700 m² (7,500 sq ft), it houses works in progress, collection pieces, and occasionally new series.
Roughly an hour’s drive from central Tokyo, Atelier iii occasionally opens to the public when the artist is away. (Address undisclosed; see link or Instagram for reservations.)

Atelier iii: About & For Visitors →
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Goldrain, 2019, particles of gold and silver leaf, and other installation views.

LATEST

Announcement: The Eugene Museum in Bali — A Permanent Home to the Work of Eugene Kangawa, Initiated by Collectors from Across Asia and ASEAN (Scheduled to Open to the Public in 2026).

With the vision and dedicated efforts of collectors across Asia and ASEAN—who conceived and have been advancing the plan—the Eugene Museum in Bali—a permanent home to the works of Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO)—is now under construction by a local operating organization on a one-hectare site near a UNESCO World Heritage site and is set to open in 2026. Initiated from a collective vision to make the exhibition permanent, the project evolved from his solo exhibition The New Sea/After the Rainbow (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2021–22). We thank all who supported it.

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NEWS MOST READ

SEP 24 2025

A collaboration between Eugene Kangawa / Eugene Studio and A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE. The special presentation of the Light and shadow inside me series in Paris (organized by ISSEY MIYAKE) will open on October 24. The spatial design is by architect Tsuyoshi Tane.

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JAN 20 2025

Eugene Kangawa’s interview was featured in The New York Times International Weekly Edition/The Japan Times weekly edition. “...Kangawa’s art and its spaces ask us to pause, consider the passage of time and the weight of our presence in it.”

OCT 23 2025

Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO) was featured in Wallpaper (UK, Web).
“Read our pick of the best Paris art exhibitions to see in September, from copyist art at Centre Pompidou-Metz to Virgil Abloh ‘The Codes’ at Grand Palais.”

OCT 23 2025

Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO) was featured in The Steidz (France, Web).
« Eugene Kangawa évolue avec aisance entre différents médiums — œuvres bidimensionnelles, installations monumentales, sculptures et vidéos — en créant des formes d’expression qui résonnent à la fois avec l’histoire de l’art et la philosophie, tout en incarnant une esthétique contemporaine d’une grande finesse. Ses œuvres, à la fois abstraites et puissamment évocatrices, interpellent autant l’intellect que la sensibilité. »

NOV 20 2021

Release announcement: Official exhibition booklet by Bijutsu Techo and Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

MAR 19 2021

Contributed to Max Richter’s feature-length documentary “From Sleep Max Richter”

MAR 19 2021

Solo exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) from November 21, 2021

MAY 13 2022

Lecture at the University of Tokyo / Open lecture at the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo

OCT 27 2024

Eugene Museum in Bali was featured in Tourismvaganza (Indonesia, Web).

DEC 10 2022

It is mentioned in ARTnews (US) “Top 200 Collectors” as a new acquisition of the Taguchi Art Collection.

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Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO

Eugene Kangawa (born 1989, USA) is known for abstract painting and installations centered on themes of human existence, time, and history.

His exhibitions and projects include EUGENE STUDIO The New Sea/After the Rainbow (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2021–22); de-sport: (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, 2020); 1/2 century later. (Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, 2017); and 89+ (Serpentine Galleries, London, 2014), among others.

Following international recognition of his solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo—centered on “symbiosis” and the “power of imagination,” at which he became the youngest artist to hold such an exhibition—a permanent museum dedicated to his work, brought to life by the vision and dedicated efforts of collectors across Asia and ASEAN, is now under construction by a local operating organization on an approximately one-hectare site near a UNESCO World Heritage site in Bali. (The Eugene Museum in Bali is scheduled to open in 2026.)

His short film has also been selected for—and received awards at—several international film festivals, including the Rhode Island International Film Festival, the Brooklyn Film Festival, and the Pan African Film Festival.

He currently works near Tokyo at Atelier iii—a lush studio designed and DIY-built by the artist and his team—together with a diverse, cross-disciplinary staff.

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Eugene Museum in Bali Presents – Pre-Opening Interview
Andra Matin & Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO) — “Voices from Indonesia” [English Subtitles]

Highlights from 2024, featuring voices from people in Indonesia.
Planning & Editing: Eugene Museum in Bali

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Eugene Museum in Bali Presents – Pre-Opening Interview
Andra Matin & Eugene Kangawa (EUGENE STUDIO) — “Voices from Indonesia” [English & Japanese Subtitles]

Highlights from 2024, featuring voices from people in Indonesia.
Planning & Editing: Eugene Museum in Bali

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Eugene Museum in Bali Presents:
Eugene Museum “Interview” Part. 1&2 Andra Matin/Eugene Kangawa (Eugene Studio) [English and Japanese Subtitles]

An interview by the Eugene Museum in Bali.
Architect Andra Matin and artist Eugene Kangawa discuss the concepts and materials, with new perspective sketches, at Eugene’s atelier and home.
(This video was recorded in May 2024.)

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ARTIST INTERVIEW

Studio Visit with Artist Eugene Kangawa | EUGENE STUDIO: After the rainbow

Published by Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2021

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WORKS

Image/Imagine #1 man, 2021
Statue

Image/Imagine is a figurative sculpture made entirely by hand in absolute darkness, from the very first step to the very last. Including the artist, no one has ever seen—and no one will ever see—its appearance. At the museum, visitors entered a completely dark room one at a time and were allowed to touch the figure that physically exists there. Made over the course of several months and already touched by thousands, the title 想像 in kanji literally carries the sense “to envision an image [a statue].”

Harumi Niwa (Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo), exhibition handout for EUGENE STUDIO: After the Rainbow, 2021–2022

“So long as this work continues to exist, the figure of Image/Imagine will go on multiplying—one for every viewer.”

From an article in Numero TOKYO

“...In the much-discussed new work Image/Imagine #1 man, although the sculpture is placed in darkness, its actual form cannot be beheld... The work can be seen as an experiment in which the ‘seeing’ viewer’s imagination determines what the work is.”

Eugene Kangawa (interview), EUGENE STUDIO: After the Rainbow, exhibition catalogue, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2021–2022

“There is a vast gulf between ‘existing, however slightly’ and ‘there being nothing at all.’ Image/Imagine exists—minutely, yet unmistakably.”

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VIEWLABLE ARCHIVE

“EUGENE STUDIO After the rainbow”
at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Nov. 2021–Feb. 2022
solo exhibition

Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture.

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Publication

Catalog: Eugene i, ii, iii
EUGENE iii Goldrain
EUGENE ii Rainbow & White (tentative)
EUGENE i Image/Imagine 想像 & Light and shadow inside me
Catalog: EUGENE STUDIO After the rainbow Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Official booklet by Bijutsu Techo and Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Catalog: special edition 1/2 Century later. Shiseido Gallery, 2019

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