BIO

The drawings, watercolors, prints, collages, and

installations of Kanako Namura Valdes are known

for their bold colors and primal shapes, inventive

processes, and an emphasis on materiality,

which is informed by her background in textiles.

By working methodically according to self-invented

rules, she explores the interplay between clarity and

ambiguity, control and happenstance.

Born in 1967 in Osaka, Japan, Namura studied in both

Japan and the United States of America. Between 2012

and 2019, she lived and worked in Mexico and is

currently based in Osaka. She has been represented by

Galería Karen Huber of Mexico City since 2015 and has

had three solo exhibitions and participated in various

art fairs such as Intersect Aspen, Zona Maco

Contemporary Art Fair, and Odeón Contemporary Art Fair.

Her works are part of the Brookfield Properties

Art Collection and in various private collections

in Japan, Mexico, and the United States of America.

CV  

Born in Osaka Japan, raised in both Japan and U.S.A.

Currently based in Osaka, Japan.

Lived and worked in Mexico between 2012 to 2019.

Education

2009-2012

MFA, Arts, San Francisco State University, U.S.A.

1989-1991

BFA, Fiber Arts, Kansas City Art Institute, U.S.A.

1985-1989

BFA, Graphic Design, Osaka University of Art, Japan

Selected solo exhibitions

2023 : The Game of Dissolution, Gallery Homage,

Osaka, Japan

2022 : How to Play in the Park, Galería Karen Huber,

Project room, Mexico city, Mexico

2020 : How to Play in the Park, Gallery1616, Osaka,

Japan 

2017 : Like watching ice melt, Galería Karen Huber,

Project room, Mexico city, Mexico

2015 : Acumulación, Galería Karen Huber, Mexico city,

Mexico

2015 : Festive, Yebisu Art Labo Gallery, Nagoya, Japan

2008 : Edging away, Yebisu Art Labo Gallery

Nagoya, Japan 

2007 : Strokes–weaving the body in and out of water

Yebisu Art, Labo Gallery, Nagoya, Japan

Selected group exhibitions

2023 : Alchemy: works on paper, Ruiz-Healy Art,

San Antonio, U.S.A.

2023 : Dualism, Don Soker Contemporary Art,

San Francisco, U.S.A.

2022 : Rokko Meets Art 2022, Kobe, Japan

2022 : Focus, Don Soker Contemporary Art,

San Francisco, U.S.A.

2021 : 50th Anniversary, Don Soker Contemporary Art,

San Francisco, U.S.A.

2021 : non-painting, Yebisu Art Labo Gallery,

Nagoya, Japan

2019 : Watercolors, Don Soker Contemporary Art,

San Francisco, U.S.A.

2016 : Project Room, Galería Karen Huber, Mexico city,

Mexico

2016 : Straight from Mexico City, Ruiz–Healy Art,

San Antonio, U.S.A. 

2014 : Extrapolación del Lenguaje, Galería Karen Huber,

Mexico city, Mexico

2013 : New Acquisitions, Don Soker Contemporary Art,

San Francisco, U.S.A.

Art fairs

2020 : Intersect Aspen, on-line, represented by Galería

Karen Huber

2017 : Zona Maco Contemporary Art Fair, represented by

Galería Karen Huber, Mexico city, Mexico

2016 : Odeón Contemporary Art Fair, Bogota, Colombia

represented by Galería Karen Huber

2015 : Odeón Contemporary Art Fair, Bogota, Colombia

represented by Galería Karen Huber

Collections

MOCA OLIVE Hill Top Terrace,

The Contemporary Art Museum of Shodoshima, Kagawa Japan

Brookfield Properties Art Collection, New York, U.S.A.

In various private collections in Japan, Mexico and

the United States of America

Press and Publications

Exclama, edición 33, 2016 

The ten most outstanding works during art week

(Bogota Colombia)

La Cool Mexico, Sept. 2015 issue, Interview by

Ángel Inzunza O. 

Exhibition Review, Bijutsutechou, April issue, 2006

Written by Tadashi Kanai

Exhibition Review, Bijutsutechou, April issue, 2005

Written by Fuminori Akiba