NANAKUSE
USUGROW / IMAONE / SHOHEI OTOMO / NISHI / FATE / SNIPE1 / TENGAONE
JUL 26, 2025 - OCT 15, 2025
Thoughts and traces etched into a single artwork.
Curated by SHINTORA GARO, the group exhibition “NANAKUSE” is held at DIESEL ART GALLERY.
DIESEL ART GALLERY will present “NANAKUSE”, the group exhibition curated by SHINTORA GARO, from July 26th (Sat) to October 15th (Wed), 2025.
The exhibition brings together six artists who have previously held solo exhibitions at SHINTORA GARO and one additional artist scheduled to hold a solo show there in 2025, retracing the gallery’s journey while presenting its current standpoint.
Participating Artists
USUGROW / IMAONE / SHOHEI OTOMO / NISHI / FATE / SNIPE1 / TENGAONE
Often referred to as a “one-piece gallery,” SHINTORA GARO operates on a clear and bold concept: to present a single work per exhibition. Each participating artist has engaged with this format in their own unique way, taking on the challenge it presents.
In “NANAKUSE”, each artist anchors their display with one main piece, accompanied by traces of the thought and process that led up to it—production notes, sketches and related works. These elements together form a narrative of past, present and future surrounding the final work.
What these artists share is a common cultural backdrop: the rise and spread of Japanese subcultures in the 1990s and 2000s— graffiti, hip-hop, punk, skateboarding, anime and video games. Immersed in these movements, they absorbed their energy and cultivated modes of expression uniquely their own.
Rather than drifting with the global tide of increasingly influential Japanese subculture, they refined their individual voices and pursued the expansion of their expressive practices. The “quirks” that emerge in their work—too complex, too contradictory to be neatly labeled as “personality”—naturally seep into both their creations and their stances as artists.
In today’s transitional moment, when many fields seem to be converging toward sameness, perhaps it is precisely these quirks that will shine—more vividly, more powerfully than ever before.
The “NANAKUSE” that manifest from the artists and the gallery itself— We invite you to witness them firsthand.
At the gallery, in addition to the exhibition with some works available for purchase, collaboration T-shirts with DIESEL, prints, and a ZINE produced by SHINTORA GARO will also be available for purchase.
*“NANAKUSE” means “Seven Quirks” in Japanese, referring to the unique traits that characterize the 7 participating artists.
ARTISTS
USUGROW
USUGROW
https://www.instagram.com/usugrow
USUGROW began his artistic career in the early 1990s, designing flyers for the music scene. His creative practice spans various methods and media, including illustration, calligraphy, painting, and murals. He translates everyday phenomena into visual form using line work and stippling work.
IMAONE
IMAONE
https://www.instagram.com/imaone
Born in Tokyo in 1980, he is an artist whose practice centers on mural work, while also spanning painting, design, and creative direction. His style—featuring original characters, a distinctive sense of world-building, and delicate linework—has gained recognition both in Japan and abroad. Drawing on skills developed through hands-on experience in the design field, he takes a flexible approach unconstrained by medium or genre. As the representative of the artist collective THA, he is based at a studio in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, where he leads projects ranging from large-scale mural production to planning and execution. He is also involved in running Shintora Garo, a concept gallery focused on presenting one artwork at a time, approaching both creation and space with equal intent.
SHOHEI OTOMO
SHOHEI OTOMO
https://www.instagram.com/shohei_otomo
Born in Tokyo in 1980. Illustrator. He mainly draws with ballpoint pens. When composing his work, he thinks about things like visual impact, pop culture, subculture, words, people, Asia, the times, rebellion, and masterpieces. His hobbies include gaming, traveling, and thinking.
NISHI
NISHI
https://www.instagram.com/nishi_8nine
In 1996, he was inspired by graffiti and traveled to the United States. After returning to Japan, he began creating murals, mainly in clubs around Roppongi and other parts of Tokyo, while also working as an illustrator for hip-hop apparel brands and music labels. Since 2008, he has actively presented his work through solo and group exhibitions, primarily overseas. He continues to engage in a wide range of creative activities, including collaborations with artists both in Japan and abroad.
FATE
FATE
https://www.instagram.com/fate_sca
Inspired by street art, he began creating graffiti in 1994 and has been active mainly in Tokyo and Kanagawa.
Blending the graffiti style honed over years on the street with his broad design experience, he expresses “Letters, Things, and Matters” through a unique, geometric, and multi-layered perspective.
SNIPE1
SNIPE1
https://www.instagram.com/fukitalltokyo
He rewrote the rules of Japanese street culture. In his teens—back in the early ’90s—he hopped on a plane to the U.S., went solo, and plunged headfirst into East Coast graffiti, thriving in New York’s underground. After globe-trotting, linking up with fellow artists, and tearing it up as a DJ, he felt the pull of Tokyo. Armed with those raw overseas experiences, he joined Takashi Murakami’s Kaikai Kiki Gallery production team—and immediately set the art world ablaze with his expressive force. Collaborations with MADSAKI and Murakami led to sprawling shows in premier contemporary art museums from here to Tokyo to Europe. In 2018, his first solo exhibition, “METAVIRUS – Don’t say it, spray it,” at Kaikai Kiki Gallery sold out every single canvas. Since then, the “META” series has exploded across the globe through hit solo shows. Now, in 2025, he’s gearing up to drop a groundbreaking new collection that shatters genre walls and pushes form to its limits. True to the “META” spirit, he weaves the code of modern life into every brushstroke, daring viewers to break free from their own preconceptions.
TENGAONE
TENGAONE
https://www.instagram.com/tengaone
A Tokyo-based street artist, he began creating graffiti at the age of 14 after being exposed to American-style graffiti culture—tagging, throw-ups, and more—near U.S. military bases.
His work spans a wide range of mediums, including murals for commercial and public spaces, sculpture, and graphic design. In 2018, his collaborative piece with Takashi Murakami, MADSAKI, Snipe1, and ONEZKER was featured in Beyond The Streets (Los Angeles), a major street art exhibition.
COLLABORATION
In commemoration of the exhibition “NANAKUSE”, DIESEL and NISHI, TENGAONE collaborative T-shirts will be on sale.
Price: ¥15,400
Release date: 2025.7.26(Sat)
Retailer: DIESEL SHIBUYA, DIESEL Official online store
¥15,400
¥15,400
¥15,400
¥15,400
CURATION
SHINTORA GARO
https://www.instagram.com/shintoragaro
In June 2009, artists USUGROW, IMAONE and architect IKUE NOMURA were starting to run the space as a gallery and multi-space. In 2023, Illustrator SHOHEI OTOMO joined our team. Following its relocation, The gallery reopened as SHINTORA GARO, with a focus on presenting individual works of art.
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