Sat. April 25 – Sat. May 23, 2026
Gallery Yamaki Fine Art is pleased to announce the opening of “Kenji INUMAKI: Scope of Linealism —Grids of Thought” on April 25, 2026, an exhibition tracing the profound trajectory of Kenji Inumaki (1943–2023). While our gallery has consistently premiered Inumaki’s latest works since 2014, this exhibition builds upon that history by presenting a curated selection of prominent works from our previous showcases, offering a comprehensive reflection on the evolution of his thought and the expansive nature of his expression.
In Inumaki’s practice, the “line” was never a mere formal element; rather, it served as a fundamental method for measuring the structure of the world and interrogating the very foundations of perception. In his spatial installations of the late 1960s and early 1970s involving thread and wire, Inumaki did not seek to present physical objects, but instead manifested planes and volumes within transparent space. These works functioned as apparatuses that prompted a transformation in the viewer’s own perception, where the line acted as a vector—dividing and reconstructing space—to establish a new phase within the invisible realm.
This exploration remained steadfast even after his practice shifted to the two-dimensional plane from the mid-1970s onward. His repetitive drawing of grids using graph paper and sumitsubo (ink pots) culminated in a unique methodology often defined as “Linealism.” This was not a simple adherence to geometric order, but an attempt to renew the logic of world-recognition through the sustained, meditative act of drawing lines.
The seemingly homogeneous and regular grids inherent in Inumaki’s work actually contain subtle fluctuations derived from bodily rhythms and the sedimentation of time. This accumulation of difference creates a departure from institutional regularity, transforming the canvas into a “field of thought” liberated from fixed structures. Within this space, the relationship between lines is constantly renewed, visualizing a space-time that is perpetually in a state of becoming.
In today’s digital era, where the clinical precision of the grid often dominates our visual experience, the irregular repetition and physicality demonstrated in Inumaki’s practice have acquired a more urgent significance. By presenting a selection of series that our gallery has featured over the years, this exhibition provides an opportunity to reconsider the depth of thought that lies at the far reaches of the ‘line.’
【Selected solo Exhibitions】
1969Gallery 16, Kyoto
1973Kenji Inumaki, Shinanobashi Gallery, Osaka
1973"Kenji INUMAKI－Drawings－", Gallery 16, Kyoto
1975Kenji Inumaki, Tokyo Gallery+BTAP
1987“Kenji INUMAKI: To Color“, INAX Gallery Osaka, Osaka, Japan
1996“Art in Kyoto: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow 18 The Works of Kenji INUMAKI”, Kyoto City Art Museum, Kyoto, Japan
1996“Kenji INUMAKI: Shaping as Evidence”, INAX Gallery 2, Tokyo
2014Solo Exhibition of Kenji INUMAKI, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Hyogo
2022KENJI INUMAKI: ’22 STUDY
【Selected Group Exhibitions】
1968“Kyoto Independent Exhibition ‘68”, Kyoto City Art Museum, Kyoto, Japan
1968Jigen'68, Kyoto City Museum of Art, Kyoto
1968"The 1st Ibaraki Contemporary Art Exhibition" Ibaraki City Grand Council Room, Board of Education Award, Ibaraki
1968"New Geometric Group Exhibition" Gallery Yatsui, Osaka
1968"New Geometric Group Domestic Exhibition" Tokyo Central Museum of Art, Tokyo
1969"Kenji INUMAKI－Drawing－", Gallery 16, Kyoto
1969"'69 Kyoto Independents Exhibition" Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto
1969"THE 9TH CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION OF JAPAN", Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto
1969"The 1st International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture" Concours, Meiji Jingu Picture Gallery, Tokyo
1969The 1st International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture, THE HAKONE OPEN-AIR MUSEUM, Kanagawa
1969"The End of the Illusion of Art", Shinano Museum of Art, Nagano, Japan
1969"Trends of Japanese Art", The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
197010th Tokyo Biennale: Between man and matter, Starting with the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, the exhibition traveled to the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, and Fukuoka City Culture Hall.
1970AUGUST 1970－ASPECTS OF NEW JAPANESE ART, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
1970"Illusion of Interior Exhibition", Sunbow Hall, Kobe, Hyogo
1970"Way of 20", Shinanobashi Gallery, Osaka
1970Mainichi Senbatsu Art Exhibition",Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Store, Kyoto
1971The 10th Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan "Human and Nature" Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo
1971"The 4th Contemporary Japanese Sculpture Exhibition 1971", Ube City Open-Air Sculpture Museum, Yamaguchi
1971Restaging "Expression in Film '71", Kyoto Newspaper Hall, Kyoto
1971"Sukkari Damena Bokutachi Ten" Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto Shoin Hall, Kyoto
1972"Kyoto Biennial" Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto
1972”Planning with Images", West Auditorium, Kyoto University, Kyoto Shoin, Kyoto, Japan
1972Gallery 16, Kyoto
1972"Art is an Exhibition: Katsuyaku-suru Bokutachi Ten", Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto Shoin Hall, Kyoto
1972"The 1st Contemporary Japanese Graphic Art Exhibition" I.C.A, London, U.K., Seibu Department Store, Shibuya, Tokyo
1972”Artists Today '72" (The 8th "Artists Today” Exhibition), Yokohama Civic Gallery, Kanagawa
1973“Affair and Practice－12Artists Exhibition” Pinar Gallery, Tokyo
1973”The 8th Biennale des Youth in Paris”, Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
1974"Japan - Tradition and Modernity", Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
1974“ALL OVER & OVER ALL or retrospective exhibition”, Gallery 16, Kyoto
1975"Asahi Art Now" The Museum of Modern Art, Hyogo, Hyogo
1976“Collage and Frottage”, Gallery 16, Kyoto
1977"The Richness of Painting" (The 13th "Artists Today” Exhibition), Yokohama Civic Gallery, Kanagawa
1981"Japanese Contemporary Art Exhibition: Trends in Japanese Art in the '70s,"The Museum of Korean Arts and Culture, Seoul, Korea
1981“FINAL'81”, Gallery 16, Kyoto
1983"Exhibition of Contemporary Art in Japan, Five Japanese Contemporary Artists" Kunstmuseum Dusseldorf, Germany
1984“20 years of Contemporary Japanese Art”, Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, Japan
1984"Human Documents" Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo
1991“BACK AND FORTH-5 -In the Wake of the Seventies-”, Gallery 16, Kyoto
1994Exhibition commemorating the 1200th anniversary of the establishment of the Heian Capital, Kyoto City Hall, Kyoto
1994ART IN KANSAI 1950's～1970's｣The Museum of Modern Art, Hyogo, Hyogo
1995“1970: Matters and Parception Mono-ha and other artists questioning roots”, Gifu Prefectural Museum of Art, Gifu, Japan, traveled to Hiroshima City Museum of Art and Kitakyushu Municipal The Museum of Modern and The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama and Contemporary Art of Saint-Étienne Métropole, France
1997"MURAMATSUⅡ Kenji Gumaki, Hirotoshi Sakaguchi, Yoshio Muramatsu" Muramatsu Gallery, Tokyo
2004“Evidence: Bodies and Thoughts in postwar art”, The National Museum of Art, Kyoto, traveled to The National Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
2005“10th Anniversary Time of Tokyo Municipal Museum 1926-1970”, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2005"The 21st Contemporary Japanese Sculpture Exhibition 2005", Ube City Open-Air Sculpture Museum, Yamaguchi
2005“Reconsidering Mono-ha”, The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
2009“23th Ube Biennale: Contemporary Japan Sculpture”, Ube City Outdoors Sculpture Museum, Yamaguchi, Japan
2012‘The Link Between Words and Art: An Homage to Nakahara Yusuke’
2014Special Show / Tatuso KAWAGUCHI・Kenji INUMAKI, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Hyogo
2014Mono-ha (School of Things) vs. Support / Surface, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Hyogo
2014"1974 A Turning Point in Postwar Japanese Art : part Ⅱ", The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, Gunma
2016“over the ages”, Gallery 16, Kyoto
2016“PAPER WORKS", Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Kobe
2018"JAPANESE POST-WAR ART", Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Kobe
2018“Collection / galerie16 Kenji INUMAKI・Yoshihisa KITATSUJI・MOON Seung-Keun”, Gallery 16, Kyoto
2020CADAN: Gendai Bijutsu 2020, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art Booth, Tokyo
2020Taipei Dangdai Art ＆ Ideas, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art Booth, Tokyo, Taiwan
2021Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK), Gallery Yamaki Fine Art Booth, Kyoto
2021Kenji Inumaki, Koudai Nakahara, Bushirou Mouri, – Morimatsu Gallery Collection, Satoko Oe Contemporary, Tokyo
2021Collection I: 2021, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi
2021"Metamorphosis and Evolution" emmy art +,Tokyo
2022Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK), Gallery Yamaki Fine Art Booth, Kyoto
2022Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival 2022, Booth: Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Osaka
2022"Mori no Iro", Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Kobe
2023"Frame and Wave" Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi
2023"Concept – Object – Environment”, Gallery yamaki Fine Art, Kobe
2024"Homage to Kenji Inumaki, The First Chapter: Like Jomon Lines”, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Kobe
2025"Early Summer Selections" Gallery yamaki Fine Art, Kobe
2026"ARTFAIR TOKYO 20" Gallery Yamaki Fine Art Booth, Tokyo
【Awards】
2006The 25th Imadate Contemporary Art Paper Exhibition '06, K Prize, Imadate Art Museum, Echizen City
2009Received Mainichi News Award at the 23rd UBE Biennale Contemporary Japanese Sculpture Exhibition
【Artist Information】
Kenji INUMAKI
SessionSat. Apr 25, 2026 - Sat. May 23, 2026 Closed on Sundays and Mondays
Hours11:00－13:00 / 14:00－19:00 [-17:00 on the last day]
PlaceGallery Yamaki Fine Art
Venue3-9-5-2F Motomachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0022
ContactTEL: 078-391-1666 FAX : 078-391-1667 MAIL: info@gyfa.co.jp
AccessOne minute walk from Motomachi Station, West exit (JR/ Hanshin Line)
ChargeFree
