Imprint – Texture of Logos

Having studied textiles at Tokyo Zokei University's graduate program and gained experience working in the apparel industry, Kumagai has developed a distinctive artistic language. A deep understanding of alpine plants, cultivated through mountaineering, forms the foundation of her work. The resilience of plants surviving in extreme environments serves as a metaphorical inquiry into human modes of existence.

The boundaries of life explored in her previous exhibition altitude shift in this exhibition toward the strata of identity within consumer society. Large-scale brand logos are no longer mere commercial signs—they have become vehicles for individual self-expression. Kumagai's interventions on the brand logos of secondhand clothing are an attempt to make visible the complex interplay between personal and collective identity. Through the delicate yet powerful technique of embroidery, she reinterprets brand logos, deconstructing and reconstructing the meanings they carry.

Kumagai's method of building three-dimensional knitted forms on textile panels produces what she calls "reliefs"—a distinctive mode of expression. This technique, which blurs the boundary between flat surface and three-dimensional form, visually embodies the fluidity of identity. Like the plants encountered at high altitude, the works here are quiet yet forceful, speaking to the viewer about the complexity of existence. This exhibition is a journey through the strata that extend between individual and brand, nature and artifice. Just as color shifts gradually, identity too lacks clear contours, ceaselessly transforming.

Through the delicate technique of embroidery, Kumagai brings into relief the multilayered nature of our existence and the fluid, ambiguous essence of the self. Her works offer viewers an occasion to reconsider the definition of who they are.

For inquiries regarding the exhibition and works, please contact info@aaploit.com.