Ulala Imai, a third-generation artist in her family, is known for her paintings in which everyday objects are transformed into enigmatic scenes charged with a sense of intimacy. Her use of popular culture iconography, which she depicts across a variety of genres such as—still life, portraiture, landscape, historic and narrative painting—distinguishes her unique body of work.
Ulala Imai (b. 1982) lives and works in Kanagawa, Japan. She trained at the Faculty of Art and Design at Tama Art University and graduated from the Doctoral Program in 2009. Recent exhibitions include A Lover’s Discourse, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, USA (2023); PUBLIC PRIVATE, Pond Society, Shanghai, China (2023); The Postmodern Child, Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, Korea (2023); THE SCENE, Karma, New York, NY, USA (2022); Reminiscence, Union Pacific, London (2022); Melody, Parco Museum, Tokyo (2021), AMAZING, Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2021) and Project N. 78, Tokyo Opera City Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2020). Ulala Imai’s artworks are included in the permanent collections of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; The High Museum, Atlanta, GA, USA; He Art Museum, Guangdong Province, China and Space K/ Kolon Museum, Seoul, Korea.
Text courtesy Xavier Hufkens

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