Dates: Oct 31 – Dec 20, 2026
Location: Taka Ishii Gallery Maebashi
Opening reception: Saturday, Oct 31, 18:00 – 19:00

Taka Ishii Gallery Maebashi is pleased to present “Fishing Village / Symbol,” a solo exhibition of works by Haruki Ohno, on view from Saturday, October 31 through Sunday, December 20. Ohno’s first solo show at Taka Ishii Gallery features approximately 40 sculptures, including new works. This exhibition is held in collaboration with the Maebashi Biennale 2026.

Multiple religions and their accompanying customs intermingle in Japan, and Ohno is drawn to forms shaped by faith and reverence. Although these forms do not necessarily conform to ideals of beauty based on balanced proportions, they have long held a place in people’s lives and have a richness and charm all their own. Ohno turns to sources ranging from primitive sculpture and Western imagery to cultural treasures preserved at temples and shrines, reinterpreting them from a contemporary perspective and giving them sculptural form.

When the material qualities of a work in progress seem to merge with its image, they emerge through a different kind of perception, one that lies beyond “national language.” If we regard certain free translations or departures from established doctrine as apocrypha, could we release them as symbols that open up vast inner spaces?

Haruki Ohno
September 2026

Ohno works with a wide variety of materials, including fiber-reinforced plastic, lead, resin, wood, and stone. Each material calls for a different process, such as chemical curing or carving from a large block. These processes produce varied textures, giving the works a range of visual characteristics. By leaving the materials’ natural qualities visible rather than hiding them beneath paint, Ohno reveals an approach in which he seeks the right form through dialogue with the material in front of him. The marks Ohno leaves on the surfaces of his sculptures recall the work of makers whose names have been lost to history, their intentions embedded in the forms they carved and modeled.

Visitors to the gallery will be struck by the works’ variation in scale. The larger sculptures placed on the floor resemble human figures, and their life-size presence heightens viewers’ awareness of their own bodies. As features such as faces on both sides of a head make clear, the sculptures have a distinct sense of orientation built into their structure, which creates movement in the surrounding space. Meanwhile, smaller sculptures displayed on the walls are based on forms such as plants, fish, and goblets. They recall netsuke (small carved toggles), devotional objects, and amulets, objects that pare the outside world down to a size that can be held in the hand and cherished. Ohno’s works likewise invite us to consider how we treasure the living things around us and incorporate them into our daily lives, and how introspection might open a path to other worlds. As we view these works, we can see how the human imagination takes physical form.

Emerging from a dialogue with his materials, Ohno’s works brim with an intimate quality that engages viewers physically and stirs something deep within them. The works’ presence, filling the gallery, invites us to contemplate a world beyond our own.

This exhibition is held in collaboration with the Maebashi Biennale 2026. Admission requires presentation of the Biennale’s passport tickets.

Passport tickets for the Maebashi Biennale 2026 can be found here

【Maebashi Biennale 2026】
Dates: Sep 19 – Dec 20, 2026
Location: Maebashi City
Hours: 10:00 – 18:00 (Last admission 17:30)
Closed on Wednesdays
For more information
– Certain public works can be viewed anytime.
– Closing dates may vary by venue. Please check the schedule for each work.

Haruki Ohno was born in Saitama Prefecture in 1992. He completed his Master’s Degree Program in Sculpture, Graduate School of Art and Design, Musashino Art University in 2017. He is currently based in Tokyo. Ohno’s solo exhibitions include “Serve”, Fujimidai Tunnel, Tokyo (2023); “Stonemason-like”, WALLA, Tokyo (2022); Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, Kanagawa (2020); “NEIGHBOR”, Daitabashi Nando / gallery DEN5, Tokyo (2018); and “HOAX”, Tokyo Zokei University mime (2017). He has participated in group exhibitions including “Figround”, Tokyo International Gallery (2026); “Gunma Biennale for Young Artists 2025”, The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma (2025); “MIMOCA EYE 2022”, Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, Kagawa (2022); “Exhibition 2021 Research Associates and Research Assistants”, Musashino Art University Museum, Tokyo (2021); Kanazawa Sculpture Festival 2019 “Betsujin”, Ge-Shuku, Ishikawa (2019); and “Sculpture and Dialogue Method II: The World from the Artists’ Perspective”; Fuchu Art Museum Citizen Gallery, Tokyo (2016).

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