AYAKO OHNO

Artist bio

The Flavor of This Morning
September 12 - October 17, 2026
Opening Reception: September 12, 5-7pm
Talk Show: October 3, 4-5:30pm, Ayako Ohno / Kaori Taguchi, Painting & Object Conservator, Associate Professor, Kyoto University, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies

KAYOKOYUKI is pleased to present "The Flavor of This Morning", a solo exhibition by Ayako Ohno.

Ohno has consistently worked with stone throughout her career. Drawing inspiration from the natural world―plants, insects, and everyday landscapes―as well as ordinary gestures and the people closest to her, she transforms the countless experiences embedded in daily life into sculptural form. Despite working with a heavy and rigid material like stone, Ohno creates sculptures that convey a remarkable sense of lightness and generosity. This distinctive quality has become a defining characteristic of her practice, which has continued to evolve in its own unique way.

In recent years, the artist has focused particularly on her own family as a central motif. She views family as a relationship that "remains constant yet continuously changes and updates." This perspective connects to her artistic process―how she engages over time, through her life and work, with things that cannot be entirely controlled, whether stone or family. This mindset also links to the inspiration behind the exhibition title: the realization that a family's daily morning soup tastes slightly different each day, subtly shifting with the weather, physical condition, or mood of each family member.

In this exhibition, we present new works centered on portrait heads of the artist's family. While the head has long existed as a traditional form of portrait sculpture, Ohno's approach diverges from its original purpose of preserving symbolic figures in durable stone. For her, these works are created "not to preserve my family, but to confront the question of what family really means to me." Instead of capturing "something" absolute or fixing it into an immutable form, she maintains a dialogue with stone to continuously explore her question―an attitude clearly visible in her approach to these heads.

The exhibited works, including the heads, also reveal the artist’s ongoing interest in "combination." In her previous practice, she has created pieces that combine contrasting materials such as stone, wood, and metal, as well as works that pair distinct motifs, such as adding a duck to a self-portrait. In this show, this focus spans materials, motifs, and techniques alike. It can be seen in heads paired with pedestals made from different stones, two-figure sculptures depicting a human and an animal, and organic, plant-like wall pieces incorporating metal. Notably, the pedestals in this show carry a dual function: while fulfilling their traditional role of supporting the heads, they also serve as a physical continuation of the figure’s body. This exploration of the relationship between figure and base clearly reflects her approach to the concept of combination.

KAYOKOYUKI has presented Ohno's work on an ongoing basis over the years, and this exhibition marks her first solo presentation in the gallery's new Roppongi space. As a result of her open approach to her own experiences, these new works feature a muted color palette that places greater emphasis on form. We warmly invite visitors to experience how her sculptural forms inhabit and resonate within the gallery's new space, and to consider the dialogue between sculpture and architecture that unfolds throughout the exhibition.

Ayako Ohno was born in 1983 in Saitama, Japan, and currently lives and works there accordingly. She received her B.F.A in Sculpture from Joshibi University of Art and Design and an M.F.A. in Sculpture from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Ayako has presented her work in: solo show "The Flavor of This Morning" at KAYOKOYUKI, Tokyo, 2026; solo show "Echigo-Tsumari MonET Exhibition Series Vol.8 -In Our Basket, with You" at Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET, Niigata, 2025; "Elsewhen, Elsewhere" at Art Intelligence Global, Hong Kong, 2025; "KOSHIKI ART 2024" at Koshikijima Islands, Kagoshima, 2024; "Resonant Scenery" at Komagome SOKO, Tokyo, 2023; "TOKOROZAWA: ARTS FOR OUR FUTURE" at Tokorozawa station, Saitama, 2023; "MEMORIES 01 -selected by Yoshiaki Inoue" at CADAN Yurakucho, Tokyo, 2023; solo show "Showcase Gallery -Ayako Ohno" at Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, Kanagawa, 2020; "TIMELINE -Multiple measures to touch time" at The Kyoto University Museum, Kyoto, 2019; “Tokorozawa Biennial of Contemporary Art –railroad siding 2017" in Saitama, 2017; "Reborn-Art Festival 2017 -Do sculptors Dream of electric car (TOYOTA prius) curated by XYZ collective" at GALVANIZE gallery, Miyagi, 2017; and "leave" at Akiyama Gallery, Tokyo, 2017. Ayako has also received the grand prize for the Daikokuya Contemporary Art Raise Exhibition 2012, and has presented her work in solo show "Sakanatoshite Tsukaru" at Itamuro Onsen Daikokuya, Tochigi, 2013. Her works have been installed in Shodo Island, Kagawa; Kanagawa Sagamihara Park, Kanagawa; and Sukagawa Midorigaoka Park, Fukushima.

http://ohnoayako.com/