Keiko Yamagiwa
b. 1983
Born in Tokyo in 1983, Keiko Yamagiwa earned her BA (Hons) in Graphic Design from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London in 2007, and completed her MA at the Department of Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts in 2010. She currently lives and works in Germany.
Her recent painting series “Now I Speak” marks a new stage in her artistic practice. Developed over the course of three years, the series evolves from her earlier drawing project “Feeling Diary”, begun during her 2002 journey through Africa, featuring rabbits, robots, and other anthropomorphic characters that humorously and critically address themes such as gender, social conformity, AI and human identity, and emotional expression.
Rooted in Japanese anime and character culture yet shaped by her experiences in Japan, the UK, and Germany, her work explores the tension between art and society, and between silence and expression—inviting us to consider, “Where do we stand?”
Artwork
The Absurd World (2025)
100.0 × 100.0 cm | 39.4 × 39.4 in
Modern Portrait (2025)
100.0 × 100.0 cm | 39.4 × 39.4 in
In the Deep Sea (2025)
100.0 × 100.0 cm | 39.4 × 39.4 in
Zkyuun Bang Bang (2025)
100.0 × 200.0 cm | 39.4 × 78.7 in
My Voice is Your Voice, Your Voice is My Voice I (2025)
100.0 × 100.0 cm | 39.4 × 39.4 in
My Voice is Your Voice, Your Voice is My Voice II (2025)
100.0 × 100.0 cm | 39.4 × 39.4 in
On the Rocks (2016)
51.0 × 41.0 cm | 20.1 × 16.1 in (FRAMED)
Nikolaschka (2016)
44.0 × 35.0 cm | 17.3 × 13.8 in (FRAMED)
Dirty Martini (2016)
44.0 × 35.0 cm | 17.3 × 13.8 in (FRAMED)
The Secret Aquarium (blue) (2014)
35.0 × 44.0 cm | 13.8 × 17.3 in (FRAMED)
A Flower Blooms (2014)
51.0 × 41.0 cm | 20.1 × 16.1 in (FRAMED)
La Joie de Vivre (2014)
44.0 × 35.0 cm | 17.3 × 13.8 in (FRAMED)
Blue Sky - the Man who Manipulate the Stars (2014)
44.0 × 35.0 cm | 17.3 × 13.8 in (FRAMED)
Twenty-four Cocktails, Twenty-four Lives (2014)
74.0 × 56.5 cm | 29.1 × 22.2 in (FRAMED)