Seven highlights from Osaka Art and Design 2026
The annual Osaka Art and Design event returns for its fourth edition with creative displays at venues around Osaka. Here, we round up seven designs and installations not to miss.
A-Z Homage to Takenobu Igarashi
The Shinsaibashi Parco shopping centre hosted an exhibition dedicated to the late sculptor and graphic designer Takenobu Igarashi, who created the logo for Parco's Tokyo branch in 1981.
The A-Z Homage to Takenobu Igarashi exhibition includes Igarashi's drawings and graphic work, as well as a reimagination of his Parco typeface in an alphabet of drawings and sculptures.
Outside the shopping centre, benches made from fibre-reinforced plastic were also created in the shapes of Igarashi's Parco lettering.
V Series Archive by Sander Wassink
Located in the Graf Porch art gallery, Dutch designer Sander Wassink displayed an exhibition of his V series of customisable chairs, of which he has made eight iterations since 2022.
Each chair is centred on an aluminium joint system that allows its seat, legs and backrest to be made from a combination of different new or found materials.
Sacred Tree by Yuichi Hirako
Aiming to explore the blurred lines separating man and nature, Japanese artist Yuichi Hirako installed a giant wooden sculpture of a body with a tree and antlers in place of a head in Osaka's Hankyu Umeda department store.
Surrounding the hand-carved sculpture was a maze of plywood panels displaying the artist's drawings and a wooden pinball machine for visitors to play with.
Hirako carved additional tree-headed figures along with animals, books, vases of flowers and playing equipment that was displayed in the store's shop windows, and his drawings were printed on fabric that formed hanging drapes on the concourse outside.
Light Crystallized by Emission
Art sudio Emission showcased its Light Crystallized collection of wall art and flower sculptures at Kintetsu Department Store Abeno, made from the studio's patented material named Prism Ray.
Prism Ray is a thin yet durable material made from polycarbonate that reflects light to give the artworks a glass-like appearance.
Emission used heat and ultrasound to mould the sheets of polycarbonate into delicate-looking petals for the floral designs.
Art Osaka 2026 at the Creative Center Osaka
Taking place alongside Osaka Art and Design is its partnered event, Art Osaka, which brought together a variety of artists' work at the former shipyard site, Creative Center Osaka.
Among the pieces on display were an installation on the beauty of rice straw by roof thatcher Sagara Ikuya, ceramic bottles and dishes by Lai Ko-Wei and a futuristic installation by Muramoto Goki that involved projecting video onto the sitter's closed eyelids.
Weave, Connect, Open by Maito Otake
Japanese artist Maito Otake created a hand-woven sculpture with a free-flowing shape displayed at the Yodoyabashi train and metro station.
Made from a polyester towel material and propped up by an internal column, the thick white, yellow, pink, blue and black threads were designed to mimic the cross rail tracks and movement of people in the station.
Resonance by Haku
Creative brand Haku aimed to embody the power of wind in its Resonance installation, located at the Art Area B1 venue in the underground passage leading to Naniwabashi Station.
Using data from one hundred years of wind speed and direction in Osaka, the installation features wind machines that blow hanging ribbons of fabric to represent the changing wind conditions in the city from 1926 to 2026.
The photography is courtesy of Osaka Art and Design unless stated.
Osaka Art and Design takes place at venues around the city from 27 May to 23 June. See Dezeen Events Guide for information about other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the world.
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