Yu Tsukada | Reiwa Illustration Exhibition Theory ③: Mai Yoneyama's Frontier
Analyzing Mai Yoneyama's solo exhibition "arc" and how the animator-turned-illustrator pioneers a new territory between illustration and art.Summary
This article is the final installment of critic Yu Tsukada's three-part series on Reiwa-era illustration exhibitions. Mai Yoneyama began as an animator, serving as animation director on works like "Kill la Kill," before becoming an illustrator. After participating in exhibitions by SSS by applibot, her solo show "EYE" (2023) featured experimental works produced at Kyoto University of the Arts' Ultra Factory. Her latest solo exhibition "arc" (2025-26) presented works such as "The story arc," which transforms from original animation drawings to printed works and video, and the approximately 3-meter-tall sculpture "arc," coexisting reproduction and unique pieces. Curator Miwa Kutsuna praised Yoneyama's temporality that "appears to move despite being still." Yoneyama aims to pioneer a new territory that is neither illustration nor art, stating she wants to give value to expressions derived from anime and manga. The article also addresses economic challenges: Kota Torakoshi notes that solo exhibitions cost about 3 million yen and many run at a deficit, with venues like pixiv WAEN GALLERY and Anicoremix Gallery closing or withdrawing. Nevertheless, exhibitions by Kei Mochizuki, Mika Pikazo, and Mai Yoneyama have attracted 10,000 to 30,000 visitors each, gaining attention from the art world. The article concludes that these developments deserve to be recorded in the history of both illustration and art in the 2020s.
(Source：artscape)