BIO
The drawings, watercolors, prints, collages, and
installations of Kanako Namura Valdes are known
for their bold colors and primal shapes, inventive
processes, and an emphasis on materiality,
which is informed by her background in textiles.
By working methodically according to self-invented
rules, she explores the interplay between clarity and
ambiguity, control and happenstance.
Born in 1967 in Osaka, Japan, Namura studied in both
Japan and the United States of America. Between 2012
and 2019, she lived and worked in Mexico and is
currently based in Osaka. She has been represented by
Galería Karen Huber of Mexico City since 2015 and has
had three solo exhibitions and participated in various
art fairs such as Intersect Aspen, Zona Maco
Contemporary Art Fair, and Odeón Contemporary Art Fair.
Her works are part of the Brookfield Properties
Art Collection and in various private collections
in Japan, Mexico, and the United States of America.
CV
Born in 1967 in Osaka, Japan. Resides and works
in Osaka, Japan.
Education
2009-2012
MFA, Arts, San Francisco State University, U.S.A.
1989-1991
BFA, Fiber Arts, Kansas City Art Institute, U.S.A.
1985-1989
BFA, Graphic Design, Osaka University of Art, Japan
Selected solo exhibitions
2023 : The Game of Dissolution, Gallery Homage,
Osaka, Japan
2022 : How to Play in the Park, Galería Karen Huber,
Project room, Mexico city, Mexico
2020 : How to Play in the Park, Gallery1616, Osaka,
Japan
2017 : Like watching ice melt, Galería Karen Huber,
Project room, Mexico city, Mexico
2015 : Acumulación, Galería Karen Huber, Mexico city,
Mexico
2015 : Festive, Yebisu Art Labo Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
2008 : Edging away, Yebisu Art Labo Gallery
Nagoya, Japan
2007 : Strokes–weaving the body in and out of water
Yebisu Art, Labo Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
Selected group exhibitions
2023 : Alchemy: works on paper, Ruiz-Healy Art,
San Antonio, U.S.A.
2023 : Dualism, Don Soker Contemporary Art,
San Francisco, U.S.A.
2022 : Rokko Meets Art 2022, Kobe, Japan
2022 : Focus, Don Soker Contemporary Art,
San Francisco, U.S.A.
2021 : 50th Anniversary, Don Soker Contemporary Art,
San Francisco, U.S.A.
2021 : non-painting, Yebisu Art Labo Gallery,
Nagoya, Japan
2019 : Watercolors, Don Soker Contemporary Art,
San Francisco, U.S.A.
2016 : Project Room, Galería Karen Huber, Mexico city,
Mexico
2016 : Straight from Mexico City, Ruiz–Healy Art,
San Antonio, U.S.A.
2014 : Extrapolación del Lenguaje, Galería Karen Huber,
Mexico city, Mexico
2013 : New Acquisitions, Don Soker Contemporary Art,
San Francisco, U.S.A.
Art fairs
2020 : Intersect Aspen, on-line, represented by Galería
Karen Huber
2017 : Zona Maco Contemporary Art Fair, represented by
Galería Karen Huber, Mexico city, Mexico
2016 : Odeón Contemporary Art Fair, Bogota, Colombia
represented by Galería Karen Huber
2015 : Odeón Contemporary Art Fair, Bogota, Colombia
represented by Galería Karen Huber
Collections
Brookfield Properties Art Collection, New York, U.S.A.
In various private collections in Japan, Mexico and
the United States of America
Press and Publications
Exclama, edición 33, 2016
The ten most outstanding works during art week
(Bogota Colombia)
La Cool Mexico, Sept. 2015 issue, Interview by
Ángel Inzunza O.
Exhibition Review, Bijutsutechou, April issue, 2006
Written by Tadashi Kanai
Exhibition Review, Bijutsutechou, April issue, 2005
Written by Fuminori Akiba