Yuko Nishikawa (b. 1976) is a Brooklyn-based artist known for her dream-like installations consisting of her colorful suspended kinetic sculptures. Nishikawa creates paintings and sculptures using primarily clay, wire, and light, and by upcycling used objects like paper and lenses. Her work explores our understanding of reality and the connection between physical objects, surroundings, and our senses and emotions.
Nishikawa was born in Sendai, Japan, and has lived in NYC since 1996. She studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC from 1998 to 2002, and practiced interior and furniture design until 2017, before devoting herself to her own art practice. Nishikawa’s recent solo exhibitions are presented in 2026 at TRUNK(HOTEL) in Tokyo, and in 2025 in the Armory Show in NYC. Other notable galleries and public spaces that have showcased Nishikawa’s solo exhibitions include: Calm and Punk Gallery, Tokyo (2025); Pollock Gallery, Dallas (2024); Curator’s Cube, Tokyo (2023); the Brooklyn Home Company, NYC (2022); and Sandro Paris’ storefronts worldwide (2021).
Born 1976, Sendai, Japan
Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY
Education
1998-2002, BFA in Interior Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, New York, NY
Selected Solo Exhibitions and Two-Person Exhibitions
2026
Coddiwomple, Saratoga Clay Arts Center, Saratoga, NY (two-person exhibition with Leah Kaplan, forthcoming)
Chormonaut, TRUNK(HOTEL), Tokyo, Japan
Seamless Paper to Installations, Corner Gallery, University of Virginia School of Architecture, Charlottesville, VA
2025
Salad, Endicott College, Beverly, MA
Perception Play, Lindberg, The Armory Show, New York, NY
Perception Play, Lindberg, West Bund Art & Design, Shanghai, China
Moshi-Moshi Karuta, Isetan Salone, Tokyo, Japan
Moshi-Moshi Karuta, Calm & Punk Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Wiggle-Under and Digital, R, Tokyo, Japan
Wiggle-Under, NorthPark Center, Dallas, TX
2024
Somniloquy, Pollock Gallery, Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Mossy Mossy, Gasbon Metabolism, Hokuto, Japan
2023
Mokumoku, Alison Milne Co., Toronto, Canada
Wire Sculptures, Curator’s Cube, Tokyo, Japan
Yuko Nishikawa-Ten, R, Tokyo, Japan
2022
Out on a Stroll, PAIR2, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Sporarium, Friends Artspace, Arlington, VA
Aki-Zakura, Yellow Studio, Katonah, NY
Memory Functions, The Brooklyn Home Company, Brooklyn, NY
Spring Sprung, Main Window Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY
2021
Piku Piku, Kishka, White River Junction, VT
Tide, Room 68, Provincetown, MA
Obscure Plant Club, Tula Plants & Design, Brooklyn, NY
2019
Petrichor, Olio Projects, Philadelphia, PA
Nap, Sculpture Space NYC, Long Island City, NY
Spore, Cooler Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2017
At Dawn, Object(s) of Our Lives, Princeton, NJ
Fantasy and Nightmare Today, Donghia, New York, NY
Fantasy and Nightmare as of Yesterday, Rubelli, Milan, Italy
Fantasy and Nightmare Today, Donghia, Milan, Italy
The Largest Crop, BWAC, Brooklyn, NY
2016
To Morandi, Rubelli, Milan, Italy
2015
Bevy, Donghia, New York, NY
Dotsonpots, Choplet Gallery, New York, NY
Commissions and Projects
2025
Pita-Pita Haneru, Anna Diamond Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Notes, Palato Italian Kitchen and Lounge, Frisco, TX
Clouds, Kelly Carambula Studio and Gallery, Excelsior, MN
2024
Celebration of the Weaver, Solhavn Apartments, American Fork, UT
2023
Memory Tourist in Watertown, Arsenal Yards, Watertown, MA
Competition Between Oranges and Peaches, Estela Bronx Apartments, The Bronx, NY
The Entry, Penny Hotel, Brooklyn, NY
The Roof, El Nico, Brooklyn, NY
2022
Memory Tourist in San Francisco, Heron Arts, San Francisco, CA
Memory Tourist in New York, public art commission, Art on Paper, New York, NY
2021
Beans, Pinecones, Umbrellas, Sandro Paris’s 52 retails locations worldwide
Squish, Tea Arts and Culture, Brooklyn, NY
2020
My Worker Is Working from Home and She Is a Painter, www.yukonishikawa.com
Squish, Tea Arts and Culture, Brooklyn, NY
2017
365 Days to Make Anything, www.yukonishikawa.com
Selected Group Exhibitions and Projects
2026
Oishiku, Tanoshimu, Kurashi, Isetan Shinjuku-ten, Tokyo, Japan
Thresholds, the Detroit Artist Market, Detroit, MI
Milk Punch, Connelly Martin, Austin, TX
Onna House, New York, NY
2025
Three Years of Wonder, Gabon Metabolism, Hokuto, Japan
Living Color, Yellow Studio, Katonah, NY
2024
Mother Earth, PART Gallery, Vailly, France
Inside~Out: Grounded in Nature, Brooklyn, NY
Mossy Mossy, Isetan Salone, Tokyo, Japan
A Cut Above, Onna House, East Hampton, NY
Beyond the Pink, Shanghai, China
Big Small Show, Drawing Rooms, NJ
2023
Rainbow Country, VSOP Projects, NY
The Way Things Go, Bienvenu Steinberg & J, NY, NY
Drip! Drop! Slice!, You Are Beautiful Gallery, Chicago, IL
Passion Project, the Art Center Highland Park, Highland Park, IL
Memory Tourist in Astoria, Artego, NYC
2022
Fire: A Curated Selection of Ceramics, Alison Bradley Projects, New York, NY
Earthen Luminaries, TRNK, NY, NY
The Lightness of Being, Onna House, East Hampton, NY
Paper Show, Heron Arts, San Francisco, CA
2021
The Other Side of the Rainbow, Artport Kingston, Kingston, NY
Inside~Out, Kin & Company, Brooklyn, NY
The Broom Show, Cooler Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Art Show: Bedford 2021, Bedford, NY
2020
La Manufacture, Edelkoort Exhibitions, Lille, France
Value of Space, Queens, NY
Broken Home, VSOP Projects x Cooler Gallery, Greenport, NY
2019
1000 Vases, La Braderie Jacquemus, Paris, France
1000 Vases, Meet My Project, Paris, France
The Stoop, Cooler Gallery, Brooklyn Designs, Brooklyn, NY
The Green Life, LMAKgallery, New York, NY
46th Annual Art Show: Bedford, Bedford, NY
2018
In Good Company: Material Culture, CasaCor Miami, Miami, FL
In Good Company: Material Culture, FM/S Presents, Brooklyn, NY
URNS, Cooler Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Somewhere Over the Interconnected Rainbow, Drawing Rooms, Jersey City, NJ
45th Annual Art Show: Bedford, Bedford, NY
2017
The Big Small Show, Drawing Rooms, Jersey City, NJ
Seascape, Beyond Studio, Brooklyn, NY
Really Affordable Art Show, BWAC, Brooklyn, NY
Art Fairs
2024
Aqua Art Miami, Alison Milne, Co., Miami, FL
2023
Hamptons Fine Art Fair, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, Southampton, NY
Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL
2022
Art on Paper, Cynthia Corbett Gallery, New York, NY
Curatorial and Organizational Activities
2017 - 2020
Founder and organizer of Salon at Forest, a monthly artist talk program, Brooklyn, NY
2016 - Present
Founder of Forest, a studio and project space. Brooklyn, NY
Awards & Honorees
2023, Winner, NYCxDesign Award for Best Installation
2017, Honoree, Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Awards, Accessories,Time Vessels
2014, Winner, Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Awards, Renaldo Chandelier for Donghia
2013, Winner, Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Awards, Origami Console Table for Donghia
Residencies
2022
Pier2 Art Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
SaikoNeon, Yamanashi, Japan
The Brooklyn Home Company, Brooklyn, NY
2021
Room 68, Provincetown, Provincetown, MA
Presentations and Workshops
2026
Workshop: Paper to Sculpture to Paper, University of Virginia School of Architecture, Charlottesville, VA
2024
Visiting Artist Lecture Series, Meadow School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
2022
Post-Pandemic Design, Pier2 Art Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2018
Modern Makers at WantedDesign, IIDA New York Chapter, New York, NY
2017
Fantasy and Nightmare as of Yesterday, Salon at Forest, Brooklyn, NY
Fantasy and Nightmare Today, Salon at Forest, Brooklyn, NY
Time Vessels, Salon at Forest, Brooklyn, NY
Publications
Miguel Angel P. Arteaga, and Teresa de la Cal. How Ideas Are Born: Ceramic Artists on Creative Processes, Hoaki, 2024
Yuko Nishikawa: Selected Works, 2017-2022, Ceramics Now, 2023
Lauren Wager, and Sophia Naureen Ahmad, Palette perfect vol. 2, Hoaki, 2022