KEY HIRAGA’S ROOM
1970’s Works
7 May – 16 July 2026

HANDS

Hands seek, welcome, brush against, hold, tremble, heal, mend, support, protect, intertwine, reveal, and ultimately let go, transforming every gesture into a silent form of relationship, attention, and care.

In the paintings of Key Hiraga, hands seem to express a yearning toward the other. In an age marked by distance and mediation, the act of touching and grazing another body takes on meanings different from those it held when the works were first conceived and created. For today’s viewer, it becomes the search for presence and contact.

The artist’s figures appear to entrust to their hands what their faces can no longer convey. Through gesture, the body attempts to transcend the boundary that separates individuals, imprisoned within appearances and imposed roles. Within proximity, there may still exist the possibility of mutual recognition.

The grasping hands, in their unease, also evoke desire and obsession, yet at the same time a fragile longing for belonging. In this way, Key Hiraga transforms the body into an emotional language and touch into a poetic form of connection.

Picture: Key Hiraga, Untitled, 1971, oil on canvas, details, 130 × 165 cm.

The exhibition is part of the project Italy–Japan, held under the patronage of the Consulate General of Japan in Milan.

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

The mouth in the paintings of #KeyHiraga is a central and recurring element.
It often appears distorted, gigantic, or caricatured, immediately attracting the viewer’s attention.
Through this figure, the artist expresses desires, instincts, and the tensions of modern society.
The mouth becomes a symbol of communication, but also of consumption and excessive pleasure.

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🔹KEY HIRAGA’S ROOM
1970s Works
7 MAY - 16 JULY 2026

Pics: details of Hiraga’s works.

✨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, Milan

#modernart #japaneseart #contemporaryart #studiogariboldi

In painting, pattern (the regular and structured repetition of a form, object, or color) transforms the surface into a visual rhythm, capable of guiding the eye beyond the figurative subject. This modular structure generates a hypnotic harmony that imparts order, depth, and a vibrant energy to the work.

Within the universe of Key Hiraga, pattern evolves into a psychedelic profusion of motifs and minute details, merging Pop aesthetics with the Japanese tradition of ukiyo-e (the “floating world”), with the aim of conveying the chaos and sensuality of modern urban life.

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In pittura, il pattern (la ripetizione regolare e strutturata di una forma, un oggetto o un colore) trasforma la superficie in un ritmo visivo, capace di guidare l’occhio oltre il soggetto figurativo. Questa struttura modulare crea un’armonia ipnotica che conferisce ordine, profondità e una vibrante energia all’opera.

Nell’universo di Key Hiraga, il pattern si evolve in un’esplosione psichedelica di motivi e dettagli minuziosi, che fondono l’estetica Pop con la tradizione giapponese dell’ukiyo-e (il mondo fluttuante), con l’obiettivo di raccontare il caos e la sensualità della vita urbana moderna.

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🔹KEY HIRAGA’S ROOM
1970s Works
7 MAY - 16 JULY 2026

Pics: details of Hiraga’s works.

✨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

#keyhiraga #modernart #japaneseart #contemporaryart #studiogariboldi

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