【gallery fu】Blooming in the space between reality and illusion. A group exhibition "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Illusionary Flowers" compiled by 8 artists.
In Ishikawa-cho, Yokohama, a short walk from the bustling Motomachi-Chinatown, stands the quietly situated gallery fu. From October 14th (Wednesday) to October 25th (Sunday), 2026, this small gallery will host "Genshoku Hanazukan" (Illustrated Encyclopedia of Illusory Flowers), a group exhibition by eight artists. The exhibition will showcase paintings and three-dimensional works, all featuring flowers as a motif. (Top image: Kaori Tamura)
A gaze toward transience, named "illusory color"
The title, "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Illusionary Colors," perfectly encapsulates the aim of this exhibition. Works that exist in the "space between" matter and immateriality, reality and unreality, are arranged in the gallery space like a "flower encyclopedia." The exhibition has given the name "Illusionary Colors" to feelings that are difficult to put into words, such as the transience of dreams and fantasies, and the longing for the unseen.
Using flowers, a motif everyone knows, as a starting point, what unfolds beyond is a landscape just outside of reality. As you walk through the venue, turning the pages of a botanical illustration book, the flowers you thought you knew gradually take on unfamiliar colors.
Eight writers, eight different ways of perceiving flowers
The highlight of this exhibition is undoubtedly the collaboration of eight artists with diverse styles. These artists, who usually work with different techniques and themes, come together under the single motif of "flowers."
Takeshi Umi captures and reconstructs everyday scenes with his unique sensibility. Karin Iwabuchi infuses gentleness and humor into his refined technique. Yoko Egawa possesses both a microscopic gaze that approaches the subject and a sense of distance that allows for a bird's-eye view. Yuko Sakaki extracts movement and rhythm from plants as paintings. Rika Shigeno intertwines the materiality of layered paint with the gaze that observes the motifs. Kaori Tamura builds a fantastical world with meticulous lines and colors. And Misa Masuda questions the very nature of matter and space, teetering between two and three dimensions.
Even with the same subject, "flowers," some artists strive for realism, while others delve deeply into abstraction and fantasy. Comparing these different perspectives reveals just how profound and versatile the motif of flowers truly is.
Curated by artist Yuichiro Omura
The curator for this exhibition is artist Yuichiro Omura, who is also one of the exhibiting artists. This marks his second time curating an exhibition, following last year's group exhibition "PHASE - Each Person's Drawing." Omura himself will be participating in this exhibition with works that use flowers as a motif to experiment with the very nature of painting.
When the individual styles of eight artists are brought together in one space, what expressions will the flowers reveal, and what kind of landscape will the gallery take on? As you savor each piece individually, the entire space comes together as a single "illustrated encyclopedia"—this is another unique pleasure of this exhibition.
Personally, I'm amazed at how so many different worlds can emerge from the same "flower," from realistic pink roses to two figures with flowers on their heads, deep blue roses, and circles filled with countless dots. I'm also happy that the small space in Ishikawa-cho allows me to slowly contemplate each piece. Why not stop by and flip through this fantastical flower encyclopedia during your autumn stroll through Yokohama?
