Akira Ikezoe: ARTnews

EFA May 14, 2026

Akira Ikezoe by Christopher Garcia Valle/ARTnews

EFA Studios Member Akira Ikezoe is named This Spring’s Breakout Star by ARTnews.

“[Akira] Ikezoe’s attempts to remake the universe according to his own absurdist logic have earned him many admirers this spring, thanks to his simultaneous appearances in two prestigious New York shows: the Whitney Biennial and MoMA PS1’s Greater New York, a recurring survey for artists based in the city. He is one of just two artists in both of those exhibitions, the other being Taína H. Cruz.

Appearing in both shows would be a career-making moment for any artist, but it’s all the more notable in Ikezoe’s case because he was not so well-known in New York before, despite having steadily shown in the city since he moved from Tokyo in 2010. He doesn’t even have a New York gallery. Instead, he is represented by Proyectos Ultravioleta, a beloved commercial space in Guatemala City that is known for spinning artists with small but loyal followings into biennial-circuit superstars. Ikezoe seems poised for that exact trajectory, with his current showings after he was included in the 2025 Sharjah Biennial alongside artists such as Wael Shawky, Richard Bell, and Raven Chacon.”

Akira Ikezoe: 2026 Whitney Biennial

ADMIN December 18, 2025

Image: Akira Ikezoe: Toads on the Diagram of Nuclear Fuel Cycle, 2021/2024
© Foto: Haupt & Binder, Universes in Universe

EFA Studio Member Artist Akira Ikezoe has been selected as one of the 56 artists in the 2026 Whitney Biennial, opening March 8.

This year's show will contend with what the museum described as "various forms of relationality, including interspecies kinships, familial relations, geopolitical entanglements, technological affinities, shared mythologies, and infrastructural supports."

Akira Ikezoe (b. 1979) is a New York-based artist born in Kochi, Japan. Ikezoe creates works in diverse disciplines, including drawing, painting, video and performance, in relation to the balance between the forces we think of as outside or before ourselves, and the “civilizing” of ourselves. In Ikezoe’s works, the human figure is presented as his alter ego and woven into a metaphysical and mythological context that depicts a timeless melting point between human and natural boundaries.

Akira Ikezoe at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden

ADMIN January 30, 2020

EFA Studio Member Artist Akira Ikazoe will be in a group exhibition “Have You Seen a Horizon Lately?” at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech, Morocco from February 25 - July 19, 2020.