agoera

agoera (b. Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan) is a painter and illustrator based in Nasu, in the highlands of Tochigi. A graduate of the Department of Graphic Design at Tama Art University and of the MJ Illustrations school, he paints in acrylic gouache on canvas, plywood and board, building his surfaces in thin, layered strokes that remain visible in the finished work.

His subjects are quiet, ordinary scenes. What the paintings hold is less the scene itself than its atmosphere and temperature — the particular light and air of a moment that is already passing. The result is a body of work that is immediately legible and yet withholding, asking the viewer to slow to the pace of the painting.

agoera's work has been widely recognised in Japan's illustration world. He received the Seiichi Suzuki Prize at the HB Gallery File Competition (2015) and the Michihiko Yanai Prize at the Peters Gallery Competition (2012), was selected for The Choice Award 2012 (Illustration magazine), and won the Silver Prize at MJ Prize 2023. His work is presented in Europe by Tokiol and will be shown at Art Market Budapest in October 2026.

Selected exhibitions

2026 Art Market Budapest, Budapest (with Tokiol)
2026 Koboreru Hibi no Kakera o, solo exhibition, HOTEL SHE, KYOTO, Kyoto
2026 Solo exhibition, MONKY Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo (November)
2027 Solo exhibition, 綠光+marüte, Taichung, Taiwan (April)