Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka
OVERVIEW
Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka（b. 1988 Toronto, Canada）is a Japanese-Canadian queer artist whose experience living with bipolar forms the foundation of her practice. Working primarily with paper, she combines printmaking, ink drawing, natural dyeing, and sewing to contemporize traditional paper techniques and materials. These take shape as sculpture, large-scale print installations, and wearable sculptures that respond to questions of climate change, mental health, and survival. Motifs of landscapes, fish, and bodies of water speak to experiences of struggle, resilience, connection, and joy. Hatanaka’s practice includes a decade of community-engaged projects based in the high Arctic, and collaborative performances that integrate and reinterpret kamiko, garments sewn out of washi（Japanese paper）. Her individual and collaborative works have been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the British Museum, and the Toronto Biennial of Art. Her works are part of the permanent collections at The National Gallery of Canada, Canada; The Shiga Prefecture Museum, Japan; The Material Art and Design Museum, United States.
HISTORY
2025
‘Shake the Ground’, Foreman Art Gallery, Sherbrooke, Canada
2024
‘In case my mind [betrays] me, let me say one last thing.’ curated by Anne-Laure Lemaitre, Trotter&Scholer, New York, USA
‘Final Gasp of the Nervous System’, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Canada
2023
‘susceptibility to gravity’, Patel Brown Gallery, Montreal, Canada
‘Unchanging and changing and changing’ collaborative performances Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2022
‘side by each 2.0’, AXENE07, Gatineau, Canada
2021
‘side by each’, Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2026
‘The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia’, Venezia, Italy
‘Tsuitayo: Becoming by Making’, KOTARO NUKAGA, Tokyo, Japan
‘Sanctuary’, Fridman Gallery, New York, USA
‘Orbital’, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2025
‘Patience and Persistence‘, Prince Takamado Gallery at the Embassy of Canada, Tokyo, Japan
2024
‘Menagerie‘, Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, New York, USA
‘Northern Exposure‘, Praz-Delavallade Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
‘Ohayo Radio‘, Ino-cho Paper Museum, Kochi, Japan
2023
‘Anonymous Art Project‘, Tokyo, Japan
‘MELTWATER‘ curated by Claire Shea, Fogo Island Arts, Canada
‘To pluck eternity along the lines of circadian rhythm‘ curated by Patrick Cruz, Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto, Canada
‘The Third Scenario‘ curated by Holly Chang, Art Gallery of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
‘Martian Chronicles: And the Moon Be Still as Bright‘, Harper’s, New York, USA
‘Surface Temperature‘ curated by Cecilia González Godino, Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, Canada
2022
‘CROSSING‘ curated by Keita Morimoto, KOTARO NUKAGA, Tokyo, Japan
‘Washi 和紙: connecting cultures, countries, generations‘, Nikkei National Museum, Burnaby, Canada
‘A Land of All Possibilities‘ curated by Anne-Laure Lemaitre, Trotter&Scholer, New York, USA
‘Expo Chicago‘ exhibiting with Patel Brown Gallery, Chicago, USA
2021
‘Artifacts of the Horizon, Part 2: Settling into Space‘, Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, Canada
‘GTA21‘, Commission for Museum of Contemporary Art Triennial, Toronto, Canada
‘NADA House‘ exhibiting with Patel Brown Gallery, Governors Island, New York, USA
2020
‘Arctic: Culture and Climate‘, The British Museum, London, UK
‘Adapt and Pivot‘, Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, Canada
‘Atigiit, Silapaat‘, Kenojuak Cultural Centre, Canada
National Gallery Singapore, Singapore
The British Museum, London, UK
Shiga Prefecture Museum, Ōtsu, Japan
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, USA
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
The Wellin Museum of Art, Clinton, USA
McMicheal Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Canada
Scotiabank Collection
TD Bank Collection
RBC Bank Collection
Art Bank at Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, Canada
Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, Canada
Guanlan Printmaking Base, Shenzhen, China
Canada Goose Collections: Germany, China, Canada, Scotland
Private collections
WORKS
NEWS
Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka will participate in 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, ‘In Minor Keys’ by Koyo Kouoh
As part of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka will present work both inside and outside the Giardini Pavilion in Koyo Kouoh’s ‘In Minor Keys’, running publicly May 9 – November 22. The 110 invited participants of this exhibition – among them, individual artists, collaborative duos, collectives, and artist-led organizations – hail from
Kazuhito Kawai & Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka 'ついたよ: Becoming by Making'
KOTARO NUKAGA Roppongi is pleased to present ‘ついたよ : Becoming by Making’, a two-person exhibition by Kazuhito Kawai and Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, from March 14 to April 10, 2026. Known for ceramics marked by pop, dynamic colors and forms, Kawai works in dialogue with the plasticity of clay and the contingencies of firing. Through dyeing,
Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka will participate ‘Maebashi Biennale 2026’ at Maebashi City, Japan
Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka will participate in ‘Maebashi Biennale 2026’ at Maebashi City（Gunma / Japan）from September 19 – December 20, 2026. Behind the festival is Maebashi’s “Mebuku” vision, conceived in 2016 to guide its development through a series of private sector-led redevelopment projects. These have included cutting-edge architectural works by Sou Fujimoto and others that have garnered international attention as structures that embody and perpetuate the city’s
KOTARO NUKAGA to participate in 'Tokyo Gendai 2025'
KOTARO NUKAGA is pleased to announce our participation in ‘Tokyo Gendai 2025’, an international art fair held in PACIFICO Yokohama, Japan from September 12 to 14. KOTARO NUKAGA will showcase works by twelve internationally diverse artists, including Tomokazu Matsuyama and Rember Yahuarcani. Featuring a dynamic range of practices across painting and glass art. And also
Group exhibition curated by artist Keita Morimoto 'Crossing'
From November 26 (Sat) to January 28 (Sat), KOTARO NUKAGA, Roppongi is pleased to present ‘Crossing,’ a group show curated by the artist Keita Morimoto. The exhibition will showcase the work of nine emerging talents who are currently garnering international attention. Morimoto, who studied art in Canada and recently returned to pursue an artistic career