Profile

Born in Sakai City, Osaka, Japan, in 1976. Currently resides in Tokyo.

Influenced by her mother, a handicraft artist, YLLY grew up enjoying drawing and creating from an early age.

After graduating from the Department of Environmental Planning, Faculty of Arts, Osaka University of Arts in 2000, she founded a management support company for artists and creators in 2007. While continuing her activity as a corporate manager, she could not abandon her passion for personal expression, leading her to begin her full-fledged creative career as an artist in 2022.

In her initial series, RAW, she focused on the luster and gloss of paint just before it dries, attempting to transform the paint itself—originally a mere material for expression—into the main protagonist of the artwork.

Currently, she is creating a new series, EDO BLOCK. Rather than simply recreating Edo-period culture, she focuses on the "shapes that remain in human memory" within that culture, reconstructing them through her unique block structure.

She won the Grand Prix at Independent Tokyo 2026.

ARTIST STATEMENT
Japan possesses a powerful visual culture recognizable to the world at a glance.

From Ukiyo-e actor prints (yakusha-e) and portraits of beauties (bijin-ga) to Kabuki theater, the contours, expressions, and colors of the figures depicted have been passed down through generations as visual icons that instantly evoke "Japan," transcending both era and national borders. This rich visual culture built by predecessors continues to hold a vital, living energy today.

EDO BLOCK translates these visuals into my own sculptural language.

Faces, hair, kimono, and bodies originally rendered in curves and brushstrokes are converted into bold block structures. Through precise planes and structural organization, they emerge as human figures with a newly defined presence.

The industrial texture and meticulous construction of the work also connect to the aesthetic values nurtured by Japanese craftsmanship (monozukuri). By bridging traditional visual culture with contemporary Japanese industrialism, EDO BLOCK forms a unique sculptural style. This is not intended to recreate the past, but to present a shared global perception of Japan as a new visual identity rising within contemporary space.

BIOGRAPHY
1976 Born in Sakai City, Osaka, Japan

2000 Graduated from Osaka University of Arts, Faculty of Arts, Department of Environmental Planning

CV
Exhibitions
2022 Independent Tokyo 2022, Takeshiba Port City, Tokyo
2022 Group Exhibition fictional function, yori.so gallery, Nishi-Ogikubo, Tokyo
2023 Group Exhibition PRISM Ⅶ 2023, GALLERY ART POINT, Ginza, Tokyo
2023 Independent Tokyo 2023, Takeshiba Port City, Tokyo
2023 Solo Exhibition RAW, KATA, Ebisu, Tokyo
2025 Solo Exhibition RAW to RAW, GALLERY SASAKI, Shinsaibashi, Osaka
2025 Solo Exhibition RAW to RAW, ALL DAY GALLERY, Setagaya, Tokyo
2025 Solo Exhibition RAW to RAW, GALLERY blanka, Nagoya
2025 Solo Exhibition RAW MOMENT and MOMENT, GOLDFLOG COFFEE, Fukuoka

2025 Solo Exhibition RAW MOMENT and MOMENT, GALLERY Ikkaku, Senzoku, Meguro, Tokyo

2026 Independent Tokyo 2026, Takeshiba Port City, Tokyo

AWARDS
2026 Grand Prix, Independent Tokyo 2026