Voyeur I, 2022
Spray paint and acrylic on wood board
76 x 101 cm
Voyeur I, 2022
Spray paint and acrylic on wood board
76 x 101 cm
SELECTED WORKS
Born in Japan and raised in the California Bay Area, Maya Fuji is inspired by both her cultural heritage and the exploration of the liminal space she lives in as an issei (first-generation) mixed-race woman in the United States. She is fascinated by traditional Japanese mythology and folklore, as well as Showa and Heisei–era subcultures, and expands on these themes within the context of her personal experiences.
A recurring theme in her work is the exploration of what forms our sense of identity, and how that can shift during one’s lifetime on account of generations living abroad. Imbuing the complexity of being multicultural, multinational, and multiracial is central to her works, as her paintings contrast the nostalgia of childhood memories with underlying feelings of being a foreigner simultaneously navigating Japanese and American communities.
She illuminates self-discovery through narration and investigation of the otherness she has felt throughout her life, and uses it as a catalyst to reconnect with and reclaim space within her heritage.
Solo exhibitions include SWIM Gallery in San Francisco and YOD Gallery in Osaka. She has shown group exhibitions with New Image Gallery in Los Angeles in addition to Glass Rice and Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco. Fuji has been featured in publications such as New American Paintings, Friend Of The Artist, It’s Nice That, Immigrantly Podcast, and was the winner of the Innovative Grant in 2023.
– KAMI, Voss Gallery, San Francisco, United States
– Fujimura Tobacco Shop, Swim Gallery, San Francisco, United States
– Humid Nostalgia, Keep Contemporary, Santa Fe, United States
– Saltfish – New Image Art, Los Angeles, United States
– Hella Good – Glass Rice Gallery, San Francisco, United States
– Across The Pond – Thinkspace Gallery, London, United Kingdom
– Butterfly Effect – Tchotchke Gallery, New York, United States
– Salut! 7 – Nucleus Gallery, Portland
– Looking Glass – Glass Rice Gallery, San Francisco, United States
– Inaugural Group Exhibition – Soft Times Gallery, San Francisco, United States
– Battle of the Bay, Good Mother Gallery, Oakland, United States
– NSFW, Spoke Art, San Francisco, United States
– Ginga, Chandran Gallery, San Francisco, United States
– BASL, Voss Gallery, San Francisco, United States
– 10xTEN, Faultline Artspace, Oakland, United States
– NSFW, Spoke Art, Oakland, United States
– Superfine! Art Fair, Fort Mason, San Francisco, United States
– AASF Artists Attack, Art Attack, San Francisco, United States
– BDSM, Superchief Gallery, Los Angeles, United States
– Make Your Mark, Art Attack, San Francisco, United States
