Yuki Matsueda
I visited Yuki Matsueda’s solo exhibition “FRAGILE.” The venue is Gallery Shinseido in Omotesando.
I had seen Matsueda’s work before, so when I heard about the solo show, I was looking forward to it.
His work is not just three-dimensional — it is pop, and it seems to prompt little discoveries in everyday life. There is a hint of cynical spice mixed in as well, and that sharpness lands as something pleasant.
FRAGILE
The title of this show, “FRAGILE,” literally means “easily broken,” but since the letters are mirrored, perhaps it is meant to signal “not easily broken”? At the entrance to the venue, samples you are allowed to touch are on display, so you get to start by checking out the material that forms the foundation of Matsueda’s work.
The show occupies two floors of Shinseido Gallery. 
Basement Floor
On the basement wall, a wall-sized installation reaches all the way up to the mezzanine ceiling. It is an homage to Andy Warhol’s work, but if you look closely you see “SUPER EGG.” As other pieces show, the artist has a particular fixation on eggs.
And in fact, actual eggs are embedded in these cans.
I spotted a scene from a soccer manga I recognized. The manga illustrations were drawn by an acquaintance of Matsueda’s.
…and just as I was thinking that, it started moving.
Something seems to be inside it, making noise. I wonder what it is?
Mezzanine Floor
There are also works displayed on the staircase leading to the upper floor.
The mezzanine floor is a darkened room. Each piece is picked out by focused lighting, staging a dreamlike atmosphere.
The piece that caught my eye most that day was the glowing “This is exit -transparency” pictured below. In the dark room, it appeared suddenly as a brilliantly luminous work.
Since this exists only in an original edition, it was also the highest-priced work in the show. Personally, I wanted to take it home.
Summary
Works that make you go “Oh!” at first glance — easily readable. Each of them is something familiar from our daily lives.
The fun lies in how mundane everyday objects, with just a small twist, come across as something entirely different.
I am looking forward to seeing what he will show us next.
