
Katsumi Nakai, 46-104, 1973 ©StudioGariboldi
KATSUMI NAKAI – FLYING HIGH
Fifteen works from the 1960s and 1970s.
16 October 2025 – 30 January 2026
TALKS
Thursday 11 December 2025 at 5pm
“L’Antivassalli” and Vassalli Room
with Eugenio Gazzola and Paolo Di Stefano
Limited seating, reservation required at press@studiogariboldi.com
DIGITAL CATALOGUE OF THE EXHIBITION NOW AVAILABLE.
Info: press@studiogariboldi.com
Tel: +39 02 21711378
“Hands Don’t Lie”
The hands you see in the reel belong to Elisabetta Bucciarelli and Linda Morando.
The hand on the wall is an iconic work by Katsumi Nakai. Untitled (1970), acrylic on shaped wood.
Katsumi Nakai. Flying High
On view until 30 January 2026
Monday | Friday, 11am-13pm | 2pm-6pm
Corso Monforte 23, Milano
Info: press@studiogariboldi.com
🎧 Music: “Avril 14th” by Aphex Twin
Richard David James, known as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His distinctive sound draws from techno, ambient, acid and jungle, making him a pioneering figure in the evolution of intelligent dance music.
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#studiogariboldi #modernart #modernjapaneseart #giovannigariboldi #katsuminakai #artgallery #milan #japan
“I started to exhibit my work from 1956 in my city, at the Kyoto Museum and in Tokyo. In 1958 I founded with other seven avant- garde artists the Tekkeikai group. But few Japanese collectors liked the avant-garde art; people wanted traditional, academic and commercial art. I left and chasing the sun I found Milan. Thank you, Milan.”
Katsumi Nakai, 1976, Milan
🔻Katsumi Nakai, 1965, different sizes, oil on canvas.
📌Katsumi Nakai. Flying High, until January 30, 2026.
Corso Monforte 23, Milan
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Studio Gariboldi, corso Monforte 23, Milan
🪁 Monday – Friday
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
info: press@studiogariboldi.com
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#studiogariboldi #modernart #modernjapaneseart #giovannigariboldi #katsuminakai #artgallery #milan #japan
🔹Studio Gariboldi celebrates the 100th anniversary of Tomonori Toyofuku’s birth.
📌#TomonoriToyofuku is a Japanese sculptor born in Kurume (Fukuoka) in 1925. After participating in the 1960 Venice Biennale, he chose to settle in Italy. He opened his studio in Milan, where he came into contact with Enrico Castellani, Piero Manzoni, and Lucio Fontana. The Milanese environment fostered the abstract shift in his artistic path, and at his first solo exhibition in Italy in 1962, he presented wooden surfaces pierced by holes—an element that would become emblematic of his spatial research.
Thanks to @giorgiocardazzo for the pictures.
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🪁KATSUMI NAKAI. FLYING HIGH
16 October 2025 - 30 January 2026
Corso Monforte 23, 20122 Milan
INFO press@studiogariboldi.com
#studiogariboldi #modernart #modernjapaneseart #giovannigariboldi #katsuminakai #artgallery #milan #japan #luciofontana
🔻KATSUMI NAKAI. FLYING HIGH
from 16 October 2025 to 30 January 2026
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Kite, 1975–1976, acrylic on shaped wood
The kite hovering above the ceiling of Studio Gariboldi closely resembles the centipede-shaped mukade dako, still flown in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, in southern Japan. The serpentine sequence of vibrating geometric modules recalls the rhythmic repetition of circular forms flanked by slender legs — a work perfectly suited for a museum.
Under the patronage @consolato_giapponese
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Studio Gariboldi, corso Monforte 23, Milan
🪁 Monday – Friday
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
info: press@studiogariboldi.com
🔹Katsumi Nakai. Flying High
October 16, 2025 – January 30, 2026
In 1964, Katsumi Nakai began his journey into the world. Between New York and Paris, Nakai chose Milan. The streets of Brera and Bar Jamaica became some of his favorite haunts. For years, he worked in his Milan studio, alongside some of the most prominent artists of the period.
Within the exhibition by Katsumi Nakai, there is a selection of archival and previously unseen photographs shows the artist at work in Milan.
✨The exhibition is open Monday to Friday, until January 30, 2026.
From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
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🔹Katsumi Nakai. Volare Alto
16 ottobre 2025 – 30 gennaio 2026
Nel 1964 Katsumi Nakai inizia il suo viaggio nel mondo. Tra New York e Parigi, Nakai sceglie Milano. Le strade di Brera e il Bar Jamaica erano tra i suoi luoghi elettivi. Lavora per anni nel suo studio a Milano, tra i nostri migliori artisti del periodo.
All’interno della mostra di Katsumi Nakai, una selezioni d’immagini d’epoca e inedite, con l’artista al lavoro a Milano.
✨La mostra è visitabile da lunedì a venerdì, fino al 30 gennaio 2026
dalle ore 11.00 alle ore 13.00, e dalle ore 14.00 alle ore 18.00
KATSUMI NAKAI, 44-148, 1971
🔹44-148 is an “Oggetto che sboccia” an
“Object in Bloom,” a phrase that accompanied the concise numerical titles of Nakai’s works. In Japanese, it was translated as obuje no tsubomi ga hiraku, literally “the bud of the object opens.” This expression of blossoming evolves into mono wa hiraku-
“the object opens”-and finally into the essential gesture hiraku: the act of opening, unfolding, and continuously revealing itself.
An opening that never ends — a dialogue between balance, movement, and light.
🎵#AkiraKosemura is a Japanese composer and pianist known for blending minimalist piano with ambient and electronic sounds. He is now one of Asia’s most streamed classical artists.
KATSUMI NAKAI. FLYING HIGH
16 October 2025 - 30 January 2026
Corso Monforte 23, 20122 Milan
#studiogariboldi #modernart #modernjapaneseart #giovannigariboldi #katsuminakai #artgallery #milan #japan


