Stefan Brüggemann 'Extreme Words (Works on Paper) '

KOTARO NUKAGA Roppongi is pleased to present ‘Extreme Words（Works on Paper）’, a solo exhibition by Stefan Brüggemann, on view from April 18 to May 23, 2026. This is the first comprehensive presentation in Japan of Brüggemann’s recent drawing series. The more than 30 drawings on view were created across his three studios in London, Ibiza, and Mexico City. Executed in graphite, oil stick, oil-based marker, and metallic marker on white and variously colored A4 sheets, these works on paper are not preparatory sketches for painting. They are what comes after painting: a site where the residue of thought, impulse, and sensation is set loose. 

Born in Mexico City in 1975, Brüggemann has spent over two decades interrogating the relationship between language and image, working across neon, vinyl lettering, gold leaf, and spray paint. Drawing on post-structuralism, deconstruction, and nihilism, he employs what he calls “Conceptual Pop”—a methodology that forces theoretical inquiry into collision with the visual seduction of pop—to expose the overflow of text and the hollowing out of meaning in contemporary society. Having exhibited at the Centre Pompidou, Museo Nacional de Arte, and major institutions worldwide, At KOTARO NUKAGA, Brüggemann presented his “CARTOON PAINTINGS”, “PUDDLE PAINTINGS”, and “HYPER-POEM PAINTINGS” in the gallery’s inaugural exhibition ’HA HA WHAT DOES THIS REPRESENT? WHAT DO YOU REPRESENT?’ (2018), followed by the “GOLD PAINTINGS” series in his solo exhibition ’ALLOW ACTION (GOLD PAINTINGS)’ (2021). In the present exhibition, he turns to a practice in stark contrast to these painting works: a radical, extreme engagement with a single sheet of paper. Brüggemann here turns to a practice at the opposite extreme from large-scale installation: the radical condensation of gesture on a single sheet of paper. 

 

【Exhibition Details】
‘Extreme Words (Works on Paper) ‘
April 18 – May 23, 2026
11:30 – 18:00（Tue – Sat）
*Closed on Sun, Mon and Public Holidays
*Golden Week Holiday closures: April 26 – May 6
Venue: KOTARO NUKAGA Roppongi

Opening Gallery Talk: April 18, 2026 14:30 – 15:30
We will host a gallery talk offering an in-depth introduction to the concepts and content of the works on view.
Venue: KOTARO NUKAGA Roppongi