Pippy Houldsworth Gallery has announced the representation of Japanese artist Masao Nakahara, who has lived in Germany since the early 1980s.
In his poignant reflections on childhood, memory, and the transience of all things, Nakahara advocates for a deep appreciation of the present moment. His intimate paintings and sculptures are populated by a cast of innocent, ageless figures set within captivating dreamscapes, imbued with a sense of serenity and surreality. Drawing on both Japanese and European art history, his work is influenced by his long-term admiration of artists such as Maurice Utrillo, Edvard Munch, and Jan van Eyck.
Masao Nakahara (b. Saitama, Japan, 1956) lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany. He received degrees from Nihon Art School, Tokyo (1980), and Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (1988). Following a thirty year career hiatus, during which he worked as a translator, Nakahara returned to public recognition in 2021, when at the invitation of his long-time friend Yoshitomo Nara, he was included in tomodachi to: With Friends at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. Other recent and upcoming solo and group exhibitions include The Urawa Art Museum Tokyo (2026); Yutaka Kikutake Gallery, Tokyo (2026, 2022); Sens Gallery, Hong Kong (2023); and Althuis Hofland Fine Arts, Amsterdam (2022). Nakahara’s work is housed in the collection of the Yoshitomo Nara Foundation. The artist is also represented by Althuis Hofland Fine Arts, Amsterdam.
Nakahara’s first solo exhibition with Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, Floating Through Time, is on view until 4th October 2025.
