About

 

Yutaro Inagaki (b.1998) is a contemporary Japanese artist currently based in London. He works primarily in figurative painting. Raised in the suburbs near Tokyo, he has long been fascinated by the idea of the metropolis. In his teenage years, he immersed himself in graffiti and urban exploration around Tokyo, experiences that led him to begin understanding the complex relationship between cities and the people who inhabit them. These early encounters continue to inform his murals, public art projects, and studio practice today.

Inagaki is currently developing a series of figurative paintings that depict everyday life within urban environments. The figures in his works are often obscured or painted black, concealing regional or cultural traits to emphasize anonymity. Rendered as if made from synthetic materials, they suggest a post-human presence.

Having grown up in Japan’s homogenized, group-oriented society, Inagaki has long questioned the position of individual identity within the collective. The recurring human and animal forms in his work explore themes such as oppression and desire, tension and release, within the context of urban life.