Keita Morimoto 'what we told ourselves'

KOTARO NUKAGA Tennoz is pleased to present ‘what we told ourselves‘, a solo exhibition by Keita Morimoto, from January 17 – March 7, 2026.

Keita Morimoto has continuously referenced baroque paintings and early 20th-century American realism in his work, depicting artificial sources of illumination, such as streetlights, neon signs, and the glow from a vending machine in dramatic chiaroscuro. His juxtaposition of light and shadow pins down the ephemeral narratives hidden within everyday landscapes of the contemporary city. After two and a half years since his previous solo exhibition at KOTARO NUKAGA, ‘A Little Closer’—in which the artist captured a more intimate atmosphere by tightening the distance between himself and his subjects—Morimoto’s gaze once again turns to the street corners of the city, transforming seemingly unremarkable locations into sites where the complexities of contemporary society intersect.

This exhibition, ‘what we told ourselves‘, features large-scale paintings alongside Morimoto’s first venture into installation art. The exhibition space extends his work into the real world, aiming to offer a more immersive experience of the sensation he portrays: that of having deliberately failed to fully grasp the world. As viewers engage with the work, they may get the sense that something is escaping them. This experience also exposes the stories and fictions we construct and in which we believe as a way of filling the gaps of what we’ve overlooked—“what we told ourselves.”

 

【Exhibition Details】
Keita Morimoto ‘what we told ourselves‘
January 17 – March 7, 2026
11:30 – 18:00（Tue – Sat）
*Closed on Sun, Mon and Public Holidays
*Special Closure: February 10

Venue:
KOTARO NUKAGA Tennoz
TERRADA Art Complex II 1F, 1-32-8 Higashi-Shinagawa,
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 140-0002 Japan

Opening Reception: January 17, 2026 16:00 – 18:00
*Keita Morimoto will be present.