HENKYO is pleased to present “The Codes,” a group exhibition by Ariel Parrow, Josh Reames, Martina Grlic, and Sean Hamilton starting Saturday, November 23rd, marking their first exhibition in Japan.

Each artist weaves their own unique perspective and method of expression into paintings full of symbolism and suggestion, which is symbolically interspersed with deliberately placed motifs and texts.

This exhibition will attempt to decipher the hidden messages within the works by using the viewer’s own senses and imagination as keys.
Every time the viewer interacts with the work, the meaning of each symbol is illuminated from a different angle, and there may be a moment where it will resonates with the viewer’s own memories and experiences.

– Artist Profile –

Ariel Parrow

Ariel Parrow is an American multi-media artist specializing in painting, sculpture, and murals. Known for her striking large-scale murals, intricate paintings, and innovative sculptures, her work seamlessly blends minimalism with detailed realism, often exploring themes of urban life and human behavior. Parrow’s murals nod at pop art traditions and incorporate them into large-scale environments through bold, vibrant, engaging color palettes and imagery. Parrow’s sculptures take her sense of romanticism apply it to spatial dynamics and dimensionality. Her dedication to public mural art, painting, and sculpture highlights her versatility and commitment to engaging a broad audience through multiple mediums.

Josh Reames

Josh Reames (b. 1985, Dallas TX) lives and works in New York. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012. He has mounted solo exhibitions at Galerie Frank Elbaz (dallas), OTI (Los Angeles), Andrew Rafacz (Chicago), Bill Brady Gallery (Miami), Luis De Jesus (Los Angeles), Josh Lilley Gallery (London), and Brand New Gallery (Milan). Select group exhibitions: Andrea Rosen Gallery (NYC), The Hole (NYC), TEAM Gallery (NYC), Koenig Gallery (Berlin), Musea Di Capodimonte (Naples), Guerrero Gallery (San Francisco).

Martina Grlic

Martina Grlić’s work explores the complex nature of memory, focusing on its amplification and the retention of overlooked details. Through a blend of archival photographs and fictional elements, Grlić meditates on the fragility and ambiguity of recollection. Feminine objects and symbols, such as delicate ornaments and festive decorations, are reimagined in a symbolic, surreal realm. These objects, often associated with domesticity and care, reflect broader societal constructs and collective memory. Grlić’s work transcends personal history, addressing public narratives and shared social fantasies.

Grlić graduated with an MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb, Croatia. She has exhibited at Museum of Mali lošinj; Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb; Kunstlerhaus, Vienna; Ningbo Museum of Art, Ningbo, China, and the National Museum, Gdansk, Poland. She lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia.

Sean Hamilton

b. 1988 After a frustrating career in advertising, Hamilton chose to apply the same ad-world visual immediacy to canvas instead, exploring issues that are close to him and putting them in a contemporary art context. His paintings often aim to create a forced set of priorities and questions using intentional image pairing/placing, alongside highly rendered forms. These subjects, most often hyper American, convey a range of topics from rural life/interests to political and social absurdity, to the disconnect in male and female representation. Each piece utilizes imagery mostly from another era, though the themes are recurring and relate directly to the current social landscape.

• 23rd November (Sat) to 21st December (Sat)
• 12:00-19:00 (Closed Sundays and Mondays)
• HENKYO ( B2F 5-9-15 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo, 150-0001 )