NEWS
SEP 24 2025
A collaboration between Eugene Kangawa / Eugene Studio and A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE. The special presentation of the Light and shadow inside me series in Paris (organized by ISSEY MIYAKE) will open on October 24. The spatial design is by architect Tsuyoshi Tane.

Left: © ISSEY MIYAKE INC. Right: Light and shadow inside me (untitled), 2024, gelatin silver print (photogram). Eugene Atelier iii, Private Collection
(The following is quoted from a press release issued by ISSEY MIYAKE.)
A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE will present a special exhibition in collaboration with contemporary artist Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO to coincide with the fourth edition of Art Basel Paris.
This exhibition introduces the latest project titled “TYPE-XIV Eugene Studio project”, inspired by Kangawa’s signature Light and shadow inside me series.
The Light and shadow inside me series comprises two types of works: those created using a sun-fading technique that result in a turquoise hue, and black-and-white pieces produced using silver gelatin paper and photogram techniques. The first work presented was made by folding watercolor paper—painted in a single shade of green—into a prism and exposing it to sunlight for several weeks, allowing the image to emerge through fading.
The subsequent black-and-white works were created by folding a single sheet of photographic paper into a three-dimensional form in a darkroom, then exposing it to light from a single source. This photogram became the conceptual starting point for this project.
In both types of works, a flat surface is transformed into a columnar or three-dimensional form, where light illuminates certain areas while others are cast into shadow formed by the body of the work itself. The traces of light and shadow inherent in the pieces appear as subtle gradations through fading or exposure. Using nothing more than paper and light, these works capture the “light and shadow inherent in the very existence of objects,” opening up new possibilities of expression beyond the conventional boundaries of photography, sculpture, and painting.
Left: Light and shadow inside me (untitled), 2024, gelatin silver print (photogram). Right: © ISSEY MIYAKE INC.

© 2025 Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO

© 2025 Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO
In this project, A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE further evolves this process by returning to the essence of a piece of cloth. Focusing on the relationship between warp and weft—the fundamental elements of woven textiles—the team creates gradations not through dyes or pigments, but by varying the density of the weave using only two thread colors: black and white. This pursuit of complex expression through simple elements conceptually overlaps light-sensitive silver halide grains with the threads of woven material, resulting in a unique textile that can be described as “fabric at the bit level.”
The installation design for the exhibition is led by Paris-based architect Tsuyoshi Tane and his studio, ATTA - Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects. A single piece of cloth traverses the space, quietly echoing light and shadow, flatness and form, as it fills the venue. In addition to showcasing the tools used in production, the exhibition features guided tours led by Eugene Kangawa and A-POC ABLE designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae, as well as an ongoing workshop that invites visitors to experience the creative process firsthand.
“The very existence of things is defined by the coexistence of light and shadow.” Centered around this essential philosophy, the exhibition presents a new frontier where art and clothing intersect. We warmly invite you to explore this convergence in person.
Title:TYPE-XIV Eugene Studio project by A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE
Exhibition period:
October 24-25, 2025 11:00-19:00
October 26, 2025 11:00-18:00
Venue:
40 Rue Volta, 75003 Paris, France
Free Admission (by reservation only)
Guided tours will be held during the exhibition.
© ISSEY MIYAKE INC.
Light and shadow inside me (untitled), 2024
Gelatin silver print (photogram).

Right: Light and shadow inside me (untitled) #30, 2023
Gelatin silver print (photogram)
About A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE
A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE is a brand that sets out to weave the future by instigating dialogues on clothing between creators and wearers. A-POC, announced in 1998, has revolutionized the process of clothes-making, where it introduced a new form of design in which the wearers partake. With more dynamism, a team of engineers led by Yoshiyuki Miyamae set out to further develop what A-POC has created and evolved into over time. Within a piece of cloth bringing about different ideas and diverse relationships with the wearers, the brand creates a variety of "ABLE's" by engaging with different professions and industries.
Biography of Yoshiyuki Miyamae, designer of A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE
Born in 1976 in Tokyo, Miyamae joined Miyake Design Studio in 2001 and worked with Issey Miyake as a member of the design team that created A-POC. Later, he joined the design team of ISSEY MIYAKE and was the fourth designer of the brand from 2011 to 2019. Since the start of A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE in 2021, he has led the team of engineers to engage in further research and development for A-POC.
Web: https://www.isseymiyake.com/pages/apocable
Official Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/apocableisseymiyake_official/
Comment by Yoshiyuki Miyamae
“We are delighted to present an exhibition in Paris in collaboration with Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO.
Mr. Kangawa seamlessly moves across a wide range of media—from two-dimensional works to large-scale installations, sculptures, and video—creating expressions that resonate with both art history and philosophy, while embodying a contemporary and refined aesthetic sensibility. His works, imbued with abstraction yet strikingly evocative, possess the power to engage both intellect and emotion.
The series featured in this exhibition, Light and shadow inside me, uses photographic paper as its material, capturing the traces of light and time as tangible marks. Through this process, Mr. Kangawa seeks to carve out a new expressive territory that is neither painting nor photography.
A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE has consistently returned to the essence of materials and structure, exploring new possibilities in clothing. For this project, inspired by Mr. Kangawa’s reflections, we returned to the smallest unit of fabric: a single thread. Using only black and white threads, we explore light and shadow through variations in weave patterns and density, translating the phenomena of photographic paper and light into the language of cloth.
Mr. Kangawa’s aesthetic, which derives rich expression from the fundamental elements of light and shadow, has offered us a new perspective in our creative practice. This exhibition serves as an experimental space where art and clothing intersect, and where light and shadow coexist to reveal a fundamental beauty.
We look forward to sharing this exploration with many visitors in the historically and culturally layered city of Paris.”

About Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO
Eugene Kangawa was born in the United States in 1989. Known for his abstract paintings and installations that address themes of time, existence, and history, Eugene Kangawa has gained recognition both in Japan and internationally. His solo exhibition EUGENE STUDIO After the Rainbow (2021–22) at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo marked him as the youngest artist ever to hold a solo exhibition at the museum. Building on the impact of that exhibition, a permanent museum spanning approximately one hectare is now under construction at the foot of a UNESCO World Heritage site in Bali, initiated by several collectors from Asia and the ASEAN region. This new museum is based on the concepts presented in the Tokyo exhibition. Currently, Kangawa creates his work at “Atelier iii,” a lush, green studio in the suburbs of Tokyo, largely built through DIY efforts by the artist himself together with his staff. The studio brings together professionals from diverse fields who collaborate on his wide-ranging projects.
Kangawa’s other work includes participation in the group exhibition de-sport: at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2020), and 89+ at London’s Serpentine Gallery (2014). Additionally, a short film he presented in the United States was named as an official selection and received awards at several international film festivals, including the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Brooklyn Film Festival.
Web: https://the-eugene-studio.com/
Official Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/eugene_studio_official/
Comment by Eugene Kangawa
“First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Miyamae and the A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE team for this truly remarkable endeavor. I am also deeply thankful to Mr. Tane for envisioning and designing this initiative as a large-scale exhibition.
This project began about three years ago. I was deeply impressed by everything the A-POC ABLE team accomplished—from expanding the very essence of my work, to creating textiles from scratch, experimenting as if weaving a new language, and ultimately arriving at these remarkable garments.
At the same time, what left a lasting impression on me was the strong alignment with the philosophy of human essence that has long been carried forward within Issey Miyake. Beneath what may initially appear to be a mathematical approach or phenomenological practice lies a profound pursuit of the individual human being’s existence. I felt this resonance deeply, and through repeated trial and error, many fragments of ideas emerged along the way.
Light and shadow inside me began with green paintings born from the fading of sunlight. A single-colored sheet—brushed, folded, and entrusted to the sun. A work that begins and ends as a painting, it is the fruit of nearly five years of patient, repeated experimentation to reach its present form.
After that, I began a monochrome series on photographic paper originally used for sketches. This series is not made with paint or print, but through the photographic technique of the photogram, which requires neither camera nor film. Since before the war, artists such as Moholy-Nagy, Man Ray, and Ei-Q have created photograms, most often employing motifs such as flowers, hands, or spheres. In contrast, this series attempts to work exclusively with just two elements: the inherent power of paper itself and the power of light, without employing any other objects.
Everything that exists already carries light and shadow within itself, even before forming any relationship with others. What I have sought is a form of painting, or two-dimensional work, in which the piece itself enacts this condition. Though the structure is simple, the interplay of complex factors such as temperature, humidity, and the intensity of light on a given day ensures that no two works ever appear the same. I see this work as a painting that employs light as its medium.
Through the interpretation of Mr. Tane and the ATTA team, the tools used in the creation process will also be on display. I am very much looking forward to sharing this with everyone in Paris.”
About ATTA - Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects
ATTA is a Paris-based international architecture atelier founded by Tsuyoshi Tane. ATTA collaborates with a team of architects, designers, and multidisciplinary and works across a broad spectrum of projects—from urban planning and architecture to exhibition design—spanning diverse geographies and cultural contexts. Central to ATTA’s practice is the concept of Archaeology of the Future, an approach that explores the memory, culture, and anthropology inherent to specificity of each site. Through this lens, architecture becomes a medium that reconnects past and future. Major works include “Estonian National Museum,” “Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art,” “The Al Thani Collection - Hôtel de la Marine,” “Tane Garden House - Vitra Campus,” and “the new main building of the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo.” (scheduled for completion in 2036)
Tsuyoshi Tane
Tsuyoshi Tane, a Paris-based architect since 2006, was born in Tokyo in 1979. Throughout his career, Tane has received numerous awards and honours, including the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture in 2022, the Jean Dejean Prize from the French Academy of Architecture, the Estonian Cultural Endowment Grand Prix, and the 67th Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists, among others.
“DIALOGUES” Episode 11
For more details on the project between Eugene Kangawa / EUGENE STUDIO and A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE, please refer to "DIALOGUES," featured on the A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE brand page.
https://www.isseymiyake.com/blogs/apocable-dialogues
*this feature will go live in October 2025
