KEY HIRAGA’S ROOM
1970s Works
Studio Gariboldi has the pleasure to announce the opening of the exhibition Key Hiraga’s Room. 1970s Works.
The solo exhibition brings together a group of striking and psychedelic works by the Japanese artist, inspired by 1970s Paris.
From 7 May until 16 July 2026
From Monday to Friday, from 11am to 1pm, and from 2pm to 6pm.
Key Hiraga’s Room is part of the project Italy-Japan. Japanese Artists in Milan since 1960.
Info at press@studiogariboldi.com
New exhibition
🔹KEY HIRAGA’S ROOM
1970s Works
7 MAY - 16 JULY 2026
As part of the project “Italy–Japan: Japanese Artists in Milan since 1960”, it will be possible to visit Key Hiraga’s Room, a new solo exhibition bringing together dazzling and psychedelic works, conveying the painterly energy and visionary imagination of the artist. The works on display feature the Paris of the Pigalle district, Hiraga’s main source of inspiration. We are in the mid-1960s, and the bustling nightlife of the French capital is translated onto his canvases into ironic and theatrical scenes populated by imaginary figures, enigmatic men, and sensual women. The body lies at the center of a continuous visual game, in which eyes, mouths, and ears transform and mutate, creating an immersive, almost cinematic experience, with some surprises for visitors who encounter the works up close.
In 1972, the Italian public encountered for the first time the exuberant works of Key Hiraga (Tokyo,1936 – Hakone, 2000), an eclectic protagonist of the postwar Japanese art scene. In 2015, after nearly half a century, Studio Gariboldi dedicated a retrospective exhibition to him, presenting a selection of works from the series The Elegant Life of Mr. K, created between the 1960s and 1970s. And now, we have the pleasure to present Key Hiraga’s Room, the second solo exhibition that Studio Gariboldi dedicates to the Japanese artist.
Pics: Key Hiraga, Untitled, 1972, oil on canvas, details, 65 × 54 cm.
Italy–Japan is held under the patronage of the Consulate General of Japan in Milan.
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✨Monday - Friday
11:00 am - 1:00 pm | 2:00 - 6:00 pm
Saturday by appointment
📍info: press@studiogariboldi.com
www.studiogariboldi.com
Corso Monforte 23, Milano
✨Full of Art è un progetto di Studio Gariboldi in cui l’arte si intreccia alla letteratura, al cinema e alla musica.
Scrittori, saggisti, filmaker, pittori, si alternano in galleria, e dialogano tra loro e con il pubblico.
La dimensione degli incontri è intima e approfondita, per questo l’ingresso è libero ma la prenotazione è obbligatoria.
I prossimi due appuntamenti:
🔹21 maggio, ore 17.00
Le preziose carte giapponesi di Lucio Passerini.
Con Paolo Linetti e Chiara Bottelli.
Un incontro dedicato alla ricerca di Lucio Passerini: materia, segno e cultura si intrecciano in un racconto che attraversa tradizione e contemporaneità.
🔹18 giugno, ore 17.00
Viaggio in Giappone. La geografia e le case.
Con Francesca Scotti, Marta Fanasca, Damiana De Gennaro.
Un dialogo a più voci per esplorare il paesaggio giapponese attraverso l’architettura, la geografia e le storie che abitano i luoghi.
📌 Corso Monforte 23, Milano
Ingresso libero, prenotazione obbligatoria
✉️ press@studiogariboldi.com
Con il patrocinio del Consolato Generale del Giappone a Milano
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#arteletteratura #fullofart #studiogariboldi #elisabettabucciarelli
ITALY-JAPAN, Japanese artists in Milan since 1960s.
The project offers a renewed perspective on the history of modern art, highlighting cultural exchange as a central driver of artistic innovation well before globalization became a defining paradigm. Artists such as #KatsumiNakai, #TomonoriToyofuku, #NobuyaAbe, #AikoMiyawaki and #KeyHiraga developed original approaches to abstract painting and sculpture by merging Eastern sensibilities with European formal structures, anticipating by decades a transnational understanding of artistic practice.
The exhibition also features previously unpublished archival documentation from the 1960s and 1970s.
Under the patronage of the General Japanese Consulate of Milan
🔹Through a focused curatorial framework, Studio Gariboldi reconstructs the narrative of a unique cultural bridge, largely absent from dominant international accounts. The exhibition proposes abstraction as a shared field of experimentation, neither exclusively European nor uniquely Japanese-shaped through dialogue, movement, and exchange.
🎧 @brianeno and @davidbyrneofficial : two visionary artists who blend sonic experimentation, conceptual art, and innovative pop, redefining the boundaries between music, performance, and visual culture.
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10 February - 30 April 2026
Monday to Friday
11am - 1pm | 2pm - 6pm
Corso Monforte 23 - 20122, Milan
Info in DM or press@studiogariboldi.com
METAL
#KatsumiNakai’s metal hinges transform painted panels into interactive, three-dimensional forms, symbolizing movement, change, and the tension between plane and volume, while reflecting the Japanese concept of “ma”—the meaningful space between objects.
🔹The metal hinges in Nakai’s works symbolize transformation, openness, and the dynamic interplay between matter and space, turning static painted surfaces into interactive, evolving forms.
Italy–Japan. Japanese Artists in Milan since 1960s
Until 30 April 2026
Mon-Fri | 11am-1pm / 2-6pm
Corso Monforte 23, 20122, Milan
🎧 @niklaspaschburg German composer and pianist. Niklas blends piano, electronics, and ambient textures into a distinctive neoclassical sound. Inspired by nature, he transforms landscapes into intimate, cinematic compositions.
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#studiogariboldi #giovannigariboldi #modernjapaneseart #japaneseart
MARBLE
#AikoMiyawaki employed marble powder blended with oil or synthetic binders, layering it onto panels to create delicately textured, almost sculptural surfaces. Through this, she evoked the Japanese sensibility of wabi-sabi, finding beauty in imperfection and impermanence, while engaging the viewer with a quiet dialogue of light, shadow, and material presence. In the postwar era, her work resonates with a search for balance between tradition and modernity, where even the densest matter seems to breathe with subtle life.
🔹The symbolic meaning of marble powder lies in imperfect beauty, expressing elegance through imperfection, impermanence, and the natural character of materials.
1. Aiko Miyawaki, Untitled, 1964, Mineral powder with binder on board, 11x22x2 cm, detail.
2. Aiko Miyawaki, Untitled, 1964, Mineral powder with binder on board, 11x22x2 cm, detail.
3. Aiko Miyawaki, Untitled, 1964, Mineral powder with binder on board, 11x22x2 cm.
4. Installation view Italy–Japan. Japanese Artists in Milan since 1960s. Studio Gariboldi, Milan.
🔹Italy–Japan. Japanese Artists in Milan since 1960s
Until 30 April 2026
Mon-Fri | 11am-1pm / 2-6pm
Corso Monforte 23, 20122, Milan
🎧 @grouplistening Stephen Black and Paul Jones return to a shared language, reworking ambient compositions by Brian Eno, Arthur Russell, Laraaji and Robert Wyatt into intimate dialogues for clarinet and piano. A quiet space where listening becomes collective.
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#studiogariboldi #giovannigariboldi #modernjapaneseart #arteinformale
