Ayaka Torimoto : My Beloved  

Alpha Contemporary is pleased to present “Ayaka Torimoto: My Beloved” from June 7 to June 21, 2025.

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Ayaka Torimoto (b. 1994, Japan) creates idealized portraits of children using classical techniques that combine tempera and oil painting. Her work evokes the stylistic beauty of early Renaissance religious portraiture, as seen in artists like Botticelli and Fra Angelico. By consciously referencing the tradition of portraying only central figures in pre-modern European painting and layering it with her own memories and emotions, she elevates her subjects into contemporary icons.

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In her solo exhibition My Beloved, Torimoto portrays children who express pure, unconditional emotions—not for reward, but simply from a desire to bring joy to others. Yet, the work goes beyond a celebration of innocence or beauty. In their expressions and gazes, we find a complex, multifaceted humanity that can surprise the viewer. There is ambiguity within their purity—an aura of both sanctity and fragility. Through these tensions, the artist seeks to explore the deeper essence of concepts such as "devotion" and "love."

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The children she paints are fictional creations based on her personal memories, longings, and experiences, yet they are also powerful self-portraits. They embody an “ideal self” projected through childhood and, at the same time, resonate as universal images of children.

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As the title My Beloved suggests, the works also reflect the perspective of children as deeply loved beings. Through the eyes of others, these portrayals evoke a quiet sense of beauty, reverence, and ephemerality, gently stirring the viewer’s own memories and emotions.

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Torimoto’s children carry an air of solemnity and grace, akin to saints or angels in religious paintings, yet they radiate a presence so delicate and realistic that they seem to exist in our own world. They offer a gaze into purity and vulnerability that resides in all of us—a quiet, powerful reminder of emotions we may have forgotten.

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We invite you to face these works in silence and contemplation.

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Exhibition Statement by Ayaka Torimoto

The word “devotion” is often used in the form of “devotedly,” implying a self-sacrificing commitment to others or to a cause. Yet such acts do not always stem from love—their motivations and backgrounds are often complex and intertwined. Perhaps this is why we are so deeply moved by love that is pure and without pretense, and see beauty in the actions that arise from it.

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■Artist Profile

Ayaka Torimoto

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Biography
1994 Born in Gifu, Japan
2021 BFA in Oil Painting, Aichi University of the Arts
2023 MFA in Oil Painting and Printmaking, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Aichi University of the Arts

Solo Exhibitions
2023
・Good Night and Sweet Dreams.｜Nagoya Sakae Mitsukoshi ARTE CASA｜Nagoya
2024
・The Wind is Blowing｜MEDEL GALLERY SHU｜Tokyo
・Empty, and Flower｜YEBISU ART LABO｜Nagoya

Selected Group Exhibitions
2022
・Nagakute Art Festival｜Nagakute Public Facility｜Aichi
2023
・ARTS STUDENTS STARS｜+ART GALLERY｜Tokyo
・see some scenes｜GALLERY IRO｜Tokyo
・GEISAI#22｜Tokyo Big Sight｜Tokyo
・Step Into Summer Like｜Galerie Zberro｜Paris
・Messages from Drawings｜Gallery Valeur｜Nagoya
・Dalston Group Exhibition -Part 5-｜Gallery Dalston｜Tokyo
・OVERTURE｜Nagoya Sakae Mitsukoshi Art Salon｜Aichi
2024
・D-Art, ART｜MEDEL GALLERY SHU｜Daimaru Sapporo
・OVERTURE｜Nagoya Sakae Mitsukoshi Art Salon｜Aichi
・“HALLO”｜MEDEL GALLERY SHU NISEKO｜Hokkaido
2025
・Beloved Things Exhibition｜Toyota Gallery
・flat｜Gallery Valeur｜Nagoya
・Face: Decoding Expressions｜Gallery Dalston｜Tokyo

Art Fair Participation
・ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2024｜Fukuoka International Center
・MARGINAL ART FAIR Fukushima Hirono 2025｜Hirono, Futaba District, Fukushima

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Awards
2022 Student Prize, ART OLYMPIA 2022 Grants
2024 Creative Link Nagoya – Portfolio Support

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■Artist Statement

I find myself deeply drawn to the eyes of livestock animals—cows, horses, and sheep—gazing back with a profound, gentle hue, as if they could forgive anything. In my paintings, I depict idealized children, whose forms blur the boundary between imagination and reality, while borrowing the emotional depth of those animals’ eyes. These figures are at once reflections of my childhood self and embodiments of a universal image of the child.

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■𝗘𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

・Duration｜June 7 - June 21 2025

・Operation Hour ｜ Tue.-Sat. 12:00 - 18:00, Tue : Appointment only by 6 pm (Closed on Sun, Mon and National Holidays)

・Venue｜Alpha Contemporary

・Admission｜Free

・Inquiry｜infoalphacontemporary@gmail.com

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■Reception & Artist Talk

・Date｜4- 6 pm June 7 2025

・Please feel free to join us without RSVP.

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