Rakuko Naito

Rakuko Naito

11 June —

26 July 2026

Rakuko Naito

For nearly seven decades, New York City has been home to Naito, though the sensibilities that shape her work remain deeply rooted in the material traditions of her native Japan.

Born in Tokyo in 1935, Naito arrived in New York in 1958 after graduating from the Tokyo National University of Art, leaving behind the conventions of postwar Japan in pursuit of artistic freedom and experimentation. Though she resists defining her work through national identity, Japanese materials and methods remain foundational to her practice. Her long engagement with kozo washi paper and traditional Japanese techniques has resulted in a body of work that feels both deeply tactile and resolutely contemporary.

For more than three decades, Naito has explored the possibilities of repetition, texture, and form through constructed paper assemblages. Nature serves less as subject matter than as a structural and philosophical guide. Earlier experiments with close-up photography of organic forms sharpened Naito’s sensitivity to texture, arrangement, and pattern, elements that continue to inform her sculptural compositions today. Rather than drawing lines by hand, she often allows materials themselves to generate form. “A line formed naturally is not the same line drawn by hand,” Naito notes. “I try to experiment and manipulate materials to create my own world.” Across the works in this exhibition, light and shadow replace conventional drawing, while

repetition becomes an act of both discipline and discovery.

Working intuitively and without preliminary sketches, Naito allows each composition to emerge through direct engagement with her materials. Untitled and identified only through coded numbers, her works resist fixed interpretation, encouraging viewers to form their own responses through sustained looking. Balancing rigorous structure with organic irregularity, Naito’s work reflects a decadeslong commitment to experimentation, material sensitivity, and the transformative possibilities of paper.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1935, Naito studied at the Tokyo National University of Art. After her graduation in 1958, she moved to New York City, where she has lived and worked ever since. Naito’s first solo exhibition was at the World House Gallery in New York in 1965. Featured throughout the United States, Europe and Japan, Naito’s work is represented in numerous galleries and public collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco), the Voorlinden Museum (Wassenaar, the Netherlands), the Kemper Art Collection (Chicago), Miami-Dade Community College (Miami), The Larry Aldrich Museum (Ridge eld, CT), the Roland Gibson Art Foundation (SUNY Potsdam) and the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. She was an artist in residence at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in 2003.

Material, Shape and Texture

My interest has been always shape and texture, shape of geometry and shape of nature.

Material I choose are mostly organic natural materials. Paper, metal or sometimes pieces of wood.

I feel natural forms and textures have a reality that can not be competed b y trying t o paint or draw, a line formed naturally is not a same line drawn by hand. I try to experiment and manipulate materials to create my own world.

I don’t try to tell stories of politics or social problems, my concern is purely art and visual stimulation.

- Rakuko Naito, May 3rd 2005

Rakuko Naito

Born in Tokyo, Japan

BFA Tokyo National University of Art in 1958

Has lived and worked in New York, NY since 1958

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2026 Maya Frodeman Gallery, “Rakuko Naito,” Jackson, Wyoming, USA

2024 Whitestone Gallery, “Tadaaki Kuwayama & Rakuko Naito: In Silence: An Ode to Nothing,” Hong Kong

2023 The Mayor Gallery, “Kuwayama Naito,” London, UK. (With TK)

2022 Shoshana Wayne Gallery, “In your arm I am radiant,” Los Angels, CA.

Tayloe Piggott Gallery, “Rhythms of White,” Jackson, Wyoming, USA

2021 Alison Bradley Projects. New York City. NY. USA (Curated by Gabriela Rangel) Shoshana Wayne, “Rakuko Naito” Los Angeles, CA, USA

2020 Christie’s NYC, “Kuwayama Naito,” New York, NY, USA

2019 Adrian Rosenfeld, San Francisco, CA. USA. (with Tadaaki Kuwayama)

Whitestone Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan.

2018 Borzo Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland. (with Tadaaki Kuwayama)

Hill Gallery, Birmingham, MI. USA. (with Tadaaki Kuwayama)

2017 Tayloe Piggott Gallery, “Tearing Rolling Folding,” Jackson, WY. USA.

Barbara Mathes Gallery, New York City, NY. USA. (with Tadaaki Kuwayama)

2016 Karuizawa New Art Museum. Karuizawa, Japan. Whitestone Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.

2013 Weber Fine Art. Greenwich, CT

2012 Tayloe Piggott Gallery, “Nature Constructed,” Jackson, WY. USA. (curated by Michael Klein)

2009 Noma Gallery, “Thoughts in Circles & Squares,” San Francisco, CA. USA.

Maiden Lane Exhibition Space, “Permutation-VariantStructure,” New York City, NY. USA. (curated by Elisabeth Akkerman)

2007 Galerie Renate Bender, Munich, Germany.

2004 Denise Cade Gallery, “Art Paris,” Paris, France.

2003 Tamada Project, Tokyo, Japan.

Galerie Renate Bender, Munich, Germany.

2001 Denise Cade Gallery, “Works of and with, but not on, Paper” New York City, NY. USA.

1992 Sakura Gallery, Nagoya, Japan.

1982 Gimpel+Hanover & Andre Emmerich Galerien, Zurich, Switzerland.

1981 Akira Ikeda Gallery, Nagoya, Japan.

1978 Charleston Art Museum of Sunrise, West Virginia.

1972 Henri Gallery, Washington D.C., USA

1965 North Truro Art Gallery, Massachusetts, USA.

1965 World House Gallery, New York City, NY. USA.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2025 Zürcher Gallery, “In Conversation,” New York City. NY. USA

Marcello Morandini Foundation and Museum, “c’é carta e carta”/ “there is paper and paper,” Varese, Italy

Alison Bradley Projects, “Snowmelt,” New York City. NY. USA

2024 Ki Smith Gallery, “ Friend,” New York City, NY, USA

2022 Nonaka-Hill Gallery, “No Title,

Not Untitled,” Los Angeles, CA.

2019 Galerie Renate Bender, “Papierwelten 3.0”, Munchen, Germany.

Mies-Van-der-Rohe Haus, “White Box,” Berlin, Germany.

2018 Adelson Galleries, “Repsychling” Boston, MA. USA.

Barbara Mathes Gallery, “Master Drawings: Post-War & Contemporary” New York City, NY. USA.

2017 Barbara Mathes Gallery, “Gallery selection,” New York City, NY. USA.

David Richard Gallery, “Sizzle and Chill: Rakuko Naito and Tadaaki Kuwayama Paintings from the 1960s.” Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Whitestone Gallery, “I love Taiwan” (Grand Opening), Taipei, Taiwan.

Blum & Poe Gallery, “Systemic Paper” Tokyo. Japan (with Kwon Young-Woo & Dorothea Rockburne)

Barbara Mathes Gallery, “Tadaaki Kuwayama / Rakuko Naito,” New York City, NY. USA

2016 Galerie Renate Bender, “Kinder, wie die Zeit vergeht!,” Munich, Germany.

2015 Galerie Renate Bender, “Work

On & With Paper,” Munich, Germany

Hill Gallery, “Some Assemble Required,” Birmingham, MI. USA.

David Richard Gallery. “OP Infinitum: American Op Art in the 60’s,” Santa Fe, NM. USA.

Macy Gallery, “Repsychling,” Columbia University, New York City, NY. USA.

Ressle/Chun at Waterfall Mansion. New York City, NY. USA.

Barbara Mathes Gallery, “Master Drawings New York,” New York City, NY,USA

2014 Museo D’arte Contemporanea.

“Prossimamente: Global Exchange Astrazione Geometrica del 1950,” Rome, Italy.

2013 Hill Gallery. Birmingham, MI. USA.

Tayloe Piggott Gallery, “Inter Weaving,” Jackson, WY. USA.

Gebert Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM. USA.

Galerie Renate Bender, “Papierwelten II,” Munich, Germany

2012 QuadrART, “Paper and More” Dornbirn, Austria. (curated by Renate Bender)

2011 The Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Art Gallery, “Breathing,” New York City, NY. USA. (curated by Soojung Hyun)

2010 David Richard Gallery, “1960s Revisited,” Santa Fe, NM. USA. Madron Gallery, “The Responsive Mind,” Chicago, IL. USA.

2009 International Women Artistsʼ Biennale, Incheon, Korea.

2008-9 Bjorn Ressle Gallery, “The Winter Salon – Works on Paper” New York City,NY. USA.

2008 Gary Snyder Project Space, “New American Abstraction 1960-ʻ75,” New York City, NY. USA.

2007 Pratt Institute Gallery, “Optical Edge” New York City, NY. USA. (curated by Robert C. Morgan) Columbus Museum of Art, “Optic Nerve: Perceptual Art of the 1960s,” Columbus, OH. USA. (curated by Joe Houston) Galerie Renate Bender, “Papierwelten,” Munich, Germany.

2006 2X13 Gallery, “Honest Echo,” New York City, NY. USA. (curated by J. Grace Rim)

2005 Tenri Foundation, “Horsefeathers Etc..” New York City, NY. USA. (curated by Thalia Vrachopoulos)

Neuen Kunstvereins, “Papier=Kunst 5,” Aschaffenburg, Germany.

The Lab Gallery at Roger Smith, “Neutral,” New York City, NY. USA. (curated by Robert C. Morgan)

2004 Museo Nacional Centre De Arte Reina Sofia, “Monocromos, Variaciones Sobre El Tema,” Madrid, Spain. (curated by Barbara Rose)

The Gibson Gallery at SUNY Potsdam, “Resounding Spirit,” Potsdam, NY. USA.

2002 Chelsea Art Museum, “Samadhi,” New York City, NY. USA. (curated by Robert C. Morgan)

Denise Cade Gallery, “20 Years Anniversary Show,” New York City, NY. USA.

2000 Salena Gallery at Long Island University, “Perceptions: Solitude Shared,” New York City, NY. USA.

1999 Galerie Renate Bender, Munich, Germany.

1994 Sakura Gallery. Nagoya, Japan.

1993 Bergen Museum, “A Moment Becomes Eternity,” Hackensack, NJ. USA. (curated by Michael Walls)

1987 Olympia & York, Park Ave Atrium, “In the Natural World,”

New York City, NY. USA.

1984 Robert Brown Contemporary Art, Washington D.C., USA

1980 Heritage Plantation, “An American Flower Show,” Sandwich, MA. USA. (curated by J. Frederic Cain)

1979 Nancy Roth Gallery, Katonah, NY. USA.

1974 Tokyo International Biennale, Tokyo, Japan.

1966 Wadsworth Athenaeum, “Black & White,” Hartford, CT. USA.

1965 Tokyo Gallery, “Five Painters,” Tokyo, Japan.

1964 The Contemporary Art Center, “Mortion & Movement,” Cincinnati, OH. USA. Purdue University, Lafayette, IN. USA.

The Larry Aldrich Museum, “Old Hundred” (Opening Exhibition), Ridgefield, CT. USA.

Southampton Art Gallery East, New York City, NY. USA.

1962 Jerald Morris International Gallery, Toronto, Canada.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

The Larry Aldrich Museum, Ridgefield, CT, USA.

Miami-Dade Community College, Miami, FL. USA.

Kemper Art Collection, Chicago, IL. USA.

Roland Gibson Art Foundation, SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, NY. USA.

Wellesley College Davis Museum, Wellesley, MA. USA.

Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Buenos Aires. Argentina.

Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, CT. USA..

Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. USA. Voorlinden Museum, Wassenaar, Netherlands.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA.

Sammlung Bruhe, Cologne, Germany. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA. USA.

Francis Greenburger Collection, New York City, USA.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

2003 Invitation by The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, CT. USA.

MAYA FRODEMAN GALLERY

66 SOUTH GLENWOOD STREET

JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING

TEL 307 733 0555

This catalog complements Rakuko Naito’s exhibition

Maya Frodeman Gallery

11 June - 26 July 2026

Images courtesy of the artist, photography credit

Dario Lasagniand and Reggie Shiobara

© 2026 All Rights Reserved

RN15293/4-31/2-21TriangleFoldChecker, (detail), Japanese paper on board

MAYA FRODEMAN GALLERY