Notable Young Artist Nanary Sakamoto Holds Final Domestic Solo Exhibition Before Studying Abroad at GALLERY ROOM・A, Re-examining Love and Self in Modern Society Through Iconized Images of Happiness
Young artist Nanary Sakamoto will hold her final solo exhibition in Japan before studying abroad, titled "Happily Ever After," at GALLERY ROOM・A from May 30 to June 28, 2026. Her works, which explore love and self in contemporary society through film-inspired female figures, will be sold exclusively on ArtSticker.
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The Chain Museum Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Michimasa Toyama, hereinafter "The Chain Museum") will host a new solo exhibition by artist Nanary Sakamoto, titled "Happily Ever After," at GALLERY ROOM・A, a commercial gallery operated by its art communication platform "ArtSticker," from Saturday, May 30, 2026, to Sunday, June 28, 2026.
*The exhibited works will be sold exclusively on ArtSticker.
*All exhibited works will be available for purchase via an entry system starting from 8:00 AM on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
*For those who wish to receive a price list before the exhibition, please contact us here.
*Further details regarding the entry period and events will be announced later on this page, the artwork page, and ArtSticker's Instagram.
Exhibition details here.
Overview:
At GALLERY ROOM・A, a commercial gallery operated by the art communication platform ArtSticker, a new solo exhibition by artist Nanary Sakamoto, titled "Happily Ever After," will be held from Saturday, May 30, 2026.
This exhibition is positioned as a significant turning point for Sakamoto, being her last domestic solo exhibition before her overseas studies.
Sakamoto has been creating paintings that re-examine the images of "happiness" and "love" presented by society, referencing female figures appearing in fictional worlds such as films and stage plays. Her colorful, theatrical canvases depict figures reminiscent of silver screen heroines and spaces like stage sets, where reality and fantasy, longing and incongruity intersect.
For the artist, painting is not merely consuming the ideal self-image as a fantasy, but also an affirmative device for surviving reality by materializing it.
In this exhibition, she further deepens her gaze inward, starting from the concept of "happy ending" symbolized by film endings, which she has depicted until now.
Placing her core artistic theme of "the intersection of fiction and reality" as a foundation, this is her first exploration into more personal and universal questions, such as love and marriage as "packages of happiness" presented by society. The image of "happiness," previously depicted as external narratives or roles, transforms in this exhibition into a subject accompanied by the artist's own lived experience and wavering emotions, presenting the distance and incongruity that arise between the ideal happiness and individual reality from a more earnest perspective.
We invite you to experience this exhibition, which re-examines the contours of love and self in contemporary society through cinematic imagery.
Reference artwork images
Exhibition Statement:
The love sworn by heroines on the silver screen has always been dazzling and our aspiration.
Society has called it a "happy ending," continuing to portray it as the ultimate happiness for women.
However, there are moments when we subtly feel a slight discrepancy between society's "grand happiness" and our own lived reality.
We live in the continuous everyday life that follows the rolling credits of the screen.
Might there be a quiet, beautiful truth there that cannot be fully captured by the existing word "happiness"?
It is precisely because we loved someone deeply that we let go and kept our distance. To believe in formless love, we deliberately step outside frameworks.
Friendship that transcends romance, the most beautiful solitude for oneself, or an appropriate sense of distance.
I believe what we seek is not a happy ending dictated by society, but the most beautiful and comfortable sense of distance for ourselves.
"Love will change into power and influence society. Only then can we women achieve love with peace of mind. And that love will surely become the most certain expression of yourself."
As this quote found in an old women's magazine published in 1970 suggests, when love sublimates into self-expression, we finally grasp the contours of ourselves.
How can one love oneself when unable to reach an ideal form, or choosing not to?
This exhibition re-examines iconized images of happiness through the medium of film, questioning the distance of love and the fluctuating nature of self in contemporary society.
Reference artwork images
Reference artwork images
Artist Profile:
Nanary Sakamoto
[Biography]
Born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 2001
Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts in 2025
Currently enrolled in the Department of Painting, Oil Painting Techniques and Materials Research Lab, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
[Exhibitions]
2022
Keywords:
*The exhibited works will be sold exclusively on ArtSticker.
*All exhibited works will be available for purchase via an entry system starting from 8:00 AM on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
*For those who wish to receive a price list before the exhibition, please contact us here.
*Further details regarding the entry period and events will be announced later on this page, the artwork page, and ArtSticker's Instagram.
Exhibition details here.
Overview:
At GALLERY ROOM・A, a commercial gallery operated by the art communication platform ArtSticker, a new solo exhibition by artist Nanary Sakamoto, titled "Happily Ever After," will be held from Saturday, May 30, 2026.
This exhibition is positioned as a significant turning point for Sakamoto, being her last domestic solo exhibition before her overseas studies.
Sakamoto has been creating paintings that re-examine the images of "happiness" and "love" presented by society, referencing female figures appearing in fictional worlds such as films and stage plays. Her colorful, theatrical canvases depict figures reminiscent of silver screen heroines and spaces like stage sets, where reality and fantasy, longing and incongruity intersect.
For the artist, painting is not merely consuming the ideal self-image as a fantasy, but also an affirmative device for surviving reality by materializing it.
In this exhibition, she further deepens her gaze inward, starting from the concept of "happy ending" symbolized by film endings, which she has depicted until now.
Placing her core artistic theme of "the intersection of fiction and reality" as a foundation, this is her first exploration into more personal and universal questions, such as love and marriage as "packages of happiness" presented by society. The image of "happiness," previously depicted as external narratives or roles, transforms in this exhibition into a subject accompanied by the artist's own lived experience and wavering emotions, presenting the distance and incongruity that arise between the ideal happiness and individual reality from a more earnest perspective.
We invite you to experience this exhibition, which re-examines the contours of love and self in contemporary society through cinematic imagery.
Reference artwork images
Exhibition Statement:
The love sworn by heroines on the silver screen has always been dazzling and our aspiration.
Society has called it a "happy ending," continuing to portray it as the ultimate happiness for women.
However, there are moments when we subtly feel a slight discrepancy between society's "grand happiness" and our own lived reality.
We live in the continuous everyday life that follows the rolling credits of the screen.
Might there be a quiet, beautiful truth there that cannot be fully captured by the existing word "happiness"?
It is precisely because we loved someone deeply that we let go and kept our distance. To believe in formless love, we deliberately step outside frameworks.
Friendship that transcends romance, the most beautiful solitude for oneself, or an appropriate sense of distance.
I believe what we seek is not a happy ending dictated by society, but the most beautiful and comfortable sense of distance for ourselves.
"Love will change into power and influence society. Only then can we women achieve love with peace of mind. And that love will surely become the most certain expression of yourself."
As this quote found in an old women's magazine published in 1970 suggests, when love sublimates into self-expression, we finally grasp the contours of ourselves.
How can one love oneself when unable to reach an ideal form, or choosing not to?
This exhibition re-examines iconized images of happiness through the medium of film, questioning the distance of love and the fluctuating nature of self in contemporary society.
Reference artwork images
Reference artwork images
Artist Profile:
Nanary Sakamoto
[Biography]
Born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 2001
Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts in 2025
Currently enrolled in the Department of Painting, Oil Painting Techniques and Materials Research Lab, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
[Exhibitions]
2022
Keywords: