Midori Arai (b. 1992, Ibaraki, Japan) creates abstract paintings grounded in bodily gesture and the accumulation of time. Working through repeated movements and physical engagement with paint, Arai explores painting as an embodied act, where traces of presence remain on the surface and suggest a dialogue between finitude and continuity.

Arai received a BA in Fine Arts from Tokyo Zokei University in 2015 and an MA in Oil Painting from Kyoto University of the Arts in 2022. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Fine Arts at Tama Art University, Tokyo. The artist’s work has been exhibited at GALLERY HAYASHI + ART BRIDGE (Tokyo), WALL_shinjuku (Tokyo), Tokyo International Gallery (Tokyo), Form Contemporary (Tokyo), and biscuit gallery (Tokyo). She received a prize at The 16th Gunma Biennale for Young Artists in 2025. Arai lives and works in Tokyo, Japan.

Selected works

silhouette #Synonyms for the Blink 3
2023
Pencil, charcoal, pastel and oil on canvas
W1620 × H1303mm

silhouette #landscape
2023
Oil on canvas
W1303 × H1303mm

Installation View