Glass Guides, a Journey to Find the "Beginning" | Yohei Chimura Solo Exhibition "It's Again Before the Next Name" Held at KOTARO NUKAGA (Roppongi)
Contemporary artist Yohei Chimura will hold his solo exhibition "It's Again Before the Next Name" at KOTARO NUKAGA (Roppongi). In addition to new works from his representative series combining glass and tin, he will present a large-scale installation covering the entire space. The exhibition runs from June 6 to July 18, 2026.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 14, 2026 at 00:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 13, 2026 at 15:32
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 13, 2026 at 16:57 (1h 24m after Collected)
"It's Again Before the Next Name" Main visual Photo by Osamu Sakamoto. Courtesy of Artist, KOTARO NUKAGA.
KOTARO NUKAGA (Roppongi) will host a solo exhibition by Yohei Chimura titled "It's Again Before the Next Name" from Saturday, June 6, 2026, to Saturday, July 18, 2026. This exhibition will feature the latest works from his representative series "Experiment at the Beginning," which encases tin within transparent glass, as well as a large-scale installation that covers the entire gallery space with a transparent vinyl membrane.
## Exhibition Overview
- Dates: Saturday, June 6, 2026 – Saturday, July 18, 2026
- Opening Hours: 11:30 – 18:00 (Tuesday – Saturday)
- Closed: Sundays, Mondays, National Holidays
- Opening Reception: Saturday, June 6, 2026, 16:00 – 18:00
- The artist will be present at the reception.
- Venue: KOTARO NUKAGA (Roppongi)
Pyramide Bldg. 2F, 6-6-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032
## Exhibition Highlights
(1) The decisive gap between the time of matter and the time of humans — Latest works from the "Experiment at the Beginning" series
Central to this exhibition is Yohei Chimura's representative series "Experiment at the Beginning," which encapsulates tin within transparent glass. Glass and tin, with their differing coefficients of expansion, would normally generate internal stress during cooling, leading to breakage. Chimura explores this limit, capturing the precise moment when molten glass and tin meet. The silver tin particles scattered within the transparent glass are the very traces of the tug-of-war between gravity, centrifugal force, and surface tension. Every single piece records all the forces and time at play during its creation.
Both silicon, the main component of glass, and tin, encapsulated within it, are elements born in the core of stars. Released into space with the death of stars, they meet again in this studio after billions of years — Chimura's works condense a span of time that is utterly unfathomable in a human lifetime. Naming "glass," creating it, and observing it are human endeavors, but before and beyond that, there is a time intrinsic to matter that cannot be fully comprehended by human perception alone. This exhibition offers viewers an experience to appreciate that discrepancy.
(2) An exhibition space enveloped in another skin, created by vinyl material
《Water Trip》Northern Alps Art Festival 2020-2021
In this exhibition, the architectural skeleton of the gallery itself will be entirely covered by a transparent vinyl membrane, transforming the entire space into an appearance as if it has donned "another skin." Vinyl, too, possesses similar material properties to glass in that it changes shape when heat is applied. Chimura approaches this material with the same attitude as he does before the furnace, accepting the forms that the material assumes in response to the heat given.
Inside the membrane, visitors are greeted by a scattered group of sculptural works, including previous objet pieces. Rather than something being "displayed," it feels as though one is encountering something that was originally there, blurring the boundaries between art, space, and viewer.
(3) First solo exhibition at KOTARO NUKAGA, showcasing the artist's current position
Yohei Chimura "Experiment at the Beginning (Distorted Spherical Type)" Yohei Chimura "Experiment at the Beginning (Cruciform Type)"
Yohei Chimura was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1984. After graduating from Toyama Institute of Glass Art and completing the doctoral program at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School, he has studied both traditional metal casting and glass art. He has exhibited his works at museums such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and Toyama Glass Art Museum, and will be appointed Associate Professor at the Glass Art Research Lab, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts from 2025.
Based on the precision of craft techniques, yet confronting the materiality of the medium itself — his practice, unconstrained by the framework of craft, reaches a turning point in this exhibition. Please pay attention to this first solo exhibition at KOTARO NUKAGA, which represents Chimura's current artistic standing.
## Yohei Chimura
Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1984.
Graduated from Toyama Institute of Glass Art in 2012, and completed the doctoral program in Fine Arts, majoring in Glass Art, at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School in 2015.
He studies traditional metal casting and glass art techniques, focusing on the triggers and moments of material transformation in his work. He incorporates the process of change itself into his art, utilizing the inherent properties of materials, such as the movement of molten metal over fire, and the warping and hardening of glass and plastic during heat exchange. Through a cycle where forms are born, lost, and regenerated, he explores the boundaries between destruction and creation, nature and artifice. Through both the beauty and precariousness hidden in change, he reconsiders the relationship between matter, environment, and humans. His works have been exhibited at institutions such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and Toyama Glass Art Museum. From 2025, he will serve as Associate Professor at the Glass Art Research Lab, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts.
KOTARO NUKAGA (Roppongi) will host a solo exhibition by Yohei Chimura titled "It's Again Before the Next Name" from Saturday, June 6, 2026, to Saturday, July 18, 2026. This exhibition will feature the latest works from his representative series "Experiment at the Beginning," which encases tin within transparent glass, as well as a large-scale installation that covers the entire gallery space with a transparent vinyl membrane.
## Exhibition Overview
- Dates: Saturday, June 6, 2026 – Saturday, July 18, 2026
- Opening Hours: 11:30 – 18:00 (Tuesday – Saturday)
- Closed: Sundays, Mondays, National Holidays
- Opening Reception: Saturday, June 6, 2026, 16:00 – 18:00
- The artist will be present at the reception.
- Venue: KOTARO NUKAGA (Roppongi)
Pyramide Bldg. 2F, 6-6-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032
## Exhibition Highlights
(1) The decisive gap between the time of matter and the time of humans — Latest works from the "Experiment at the Beginning" series
Central to this exhibition is Yohei Chimura's representative series "Experiment at the Beginning," which encapsulates tin within transparent glass. Glass and tin, with their differing coefficients of expansion, would normally generate internal stress during cooling, leading to breakage. Chimura explores this limit, capturing the precise moment when molten glass and tin meet. The silver tin particles scattered within the transparent glass are the very traces of the tug-of-war between gravity, centrifugal force, and surface tension. Every single piece records all the forces and time at play during its creation.
Both silicon, the main component of glass, and tin, encapsulated within it, are elements born in the core of stars. Released into space with the death of stars, they meet again in this studio after billions of years — Chimura's works condense a span of time that is utterly unfathomable in a human lifetime. Naming "glass," creating it, and observing it are human endeavors, but before and beyond that, there is a time intrinsic to matter that cannot be fully comprehended by human perception alone. This exhibition offers viewers an experience to appreciate that discrepancy.
(2) An exhibition space enveloped in another skin, created by vinyl material
《Water Trip》Northern Alps Art Festival 2020-2021
In this exhibition, the architectural skeleton of the gallery itself will be entirely covered by a transparent vinyl membrane, transforming the entire space into an appearance as if it has donned "another skin." Vinyl, too, possesses similar material properties to glass in that it changes shape when heat is applied. Chimura approaches this material with the same attitude as he does before the furnace, accepting the forms that the material assumes in response to the heat given.
Inside the membrane, visitors are greeted by a scattered group of sculptural works, including previous objet pieces. Rather than something being "displayed," it feels as though one is encountering something that was originally there, blurring the boundaries between art, space, and viewer.
(3) First solo exhibition at KOTARO NUKAGA, showcasing the artist's current position
Yohei Chimura "Experiment at the Beginning (Distorted Spherical Type)" Yohei Chimura "Experiment at the Beginning (Cruciform Type)"
Yohei Chimura was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1984. After graduating from Toyama Institute of Glass Art and completing the doctoral program at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School, he has studied both traditional metal casting and glass art. He has exhibited his works at museums such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and Toyama Glass Art Museum, and will be appointed Associate Professor at the Glass Art Research Lab, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts from 2025.
Based on the precision of craft techniques, yet confronting the materiality of the medium itself — his practice, unconstrained by the framework of craft, reaches a turning point in this exhibition. Please pay attention to this first solo exhibition at KOTARO NUKAGA, which represents Chimura's current artistic standing.
## Yohei Chimura
Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1984.
Graduated from Toyama Institute of Glass Art in 2012, and completed the doctoral program in Fine Arts, majoring in Glass Art, at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School in 2015.
He studies traditional metal casting and glass art techniques, focusing on the triggers and moments of material transformation in his work. He incorporates the process of change itself into his art, utilizing the inherent properties of materials, such as the movement of molten metal over fire, and the warping and hardening of glass and plastic during heat exchange. Through a cycle where forms are born, lost, and regenerated, he explores the boundaries between destruction and creation, nature and artifice. Through both the beauty and precariousness hidden in change, he reconsiders the relationship between matter, environment, and humans. His works have been exhibited at institutions such as the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and Toyama Glass Art Museum. From 2025, he will serve as Associate Professor at the Glass Art Research Lab, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts.