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29th Jan, 2026 - 11th Apr, 2026 
Kenji Yoshida La Vie 'Arawareru' (Life Manifests), 1978. Oil on canvas, 50 x 51 cm. © The Estate of Kenji Yoshida. Courtesy the Estate of Kenji Yoshida and October Gallery, London.
October Gallery presents Kenji Yoshida: The Meaning of Life, a solo exhibition by the Japanese Post-War artist, comprising selected significant works, spanning the decades between the 1960s and 1990s. Yoshida is best known for the monumental, almost transcendent works that employ precious metals of gold and silver leaf upon Japanese lacquer and coloured paints on canvas.
Conscripted at the age of 19, in 1943, Yoshida was directly assigned to a kamikaze squadron. The traumatic experiences he lived through left Yoshida profoundly conscious of the fragility of life and the overriding proximity of death, an awareness that permeates all the work that followed. Returning to his art after the Japanese surrender following Hiroshima, Yoshida moved to Paris, in the early 60s, to study graphic art techniques at Stanley Hayter’s influential Atelier 17.
The exhibition expands upon the recent presentation of Yoshida’s works at Frieze Masters, 2025.
A private view will take place on Wednesday 4th March at 6 pm at October Gallery, London. Please RSVP on https://PrivateViewKenjiYoshida.eventbrite.co.uk or email Alana@octobergallery.co.uk
