We are pleased to present “Color/Scape,” a solo exhibition by Lui Araki, an artist active as both a photographer and a professional skateboarder. Centered on color photographic prints taken around the world and accompanied by related materials, the exhibition traces cities and nature—along with bodily sensation and color—through Araki’s distinctive gaze. Throughout the run, visitors can experience the unique world that emerges from the two-way flow between skateboarding and photographic expression across the entire New Gallery space.

Lui Araki (born 1977 in Kobe; lives in Tokyo) is known both as a photographer and as a professional skater with exceptional technique. In 1995 he won the AJSA (All Japan Skateboard Association) National Championship, earning his professional qualification, and from the following year he began his career as a pro rider. In 1998 he joined the Japan team of New York deck brand ZOO YORK, building an active career at the forefront of the scene in Japan and abroad.

In parallel with skateboarding, from around the age of twenty he traveled the world with a camera, embarking in earnest on photographic work. While he initially produced monochrome prints and also used digital cameras, from around 2008 he shifted to color works on film and continues to work consistently with film today. In the darkroom, he test-prints each negative one by one, adjusting balance and brightness; this approach imparts painterly precision and vivid, lifelike color to the finished works.

For Araki, the photographs created in this way are closely connected to his mindset as a skater—pursuing expression in dialogue with his own body. Since his first participation in a group exhibition in 2009, he has consistently shown his work in Japan and overseas.

This exhibition presents a carefully selected group of prints from the vast body of images he has shot around the world, together with related materials, offering a comprehensive look back at Lui Araki’s trajectory.

---

Exhibition Details

Title: Lui Araki Solo Exhibition “Color/Scape”
Dates: Fri, Sept 12 – Sun, Sept 28, 2025 Closed Mon, Sept 22
Opening Reception: Fri, Sept 12 from 17:00
Hours: Weekdays 14:00–19:00 / Sat, Sun & Holidays 12:00–19:00
Admission: Free
Venue: New Gallery | 1F, mirio Jinbōchō, 1-28-1 Kanda-Jinbōchō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Organizer: New Gallery

---

Lui Araki — Biography

Solo Exhibitions
2012 “Lui Araki Photo Exhibition” | UNIque (Daikanyama, Tokyo)
2012 “Lui Araki Photo Exhibition” | ROLL (Macau, China)
2013 “Lui Araki Photo Exhibition” | NO.12 Gallery (Tokyo)
2018 “unexpected” | Diginner Gallery (Tokyo)
2018 “Aoi Taiko”｜W+K+ Gallery（Tokyo）
2019 “Life of Asia”｜Latitude（Fukuoka）
2019 “Stolen Moments”｜Diginner Gallery（Tokyo）
2020 “Rubbish Experiment”｜UNIque（Daikanyama, Tokyo）
2021 “AWARENESS”｜RAZE（Sangenjaya, Tokyo）
2022 “Reverberation”｜BARNEYS NEW YORK Roppongi（Tokyo）
2022 “Reverberation”｜BARNEYS NEW YORK Kobe（Hyogo）
2022 “Benjamin Deberdt invite LUI ARAKI”｜Autobus（Paris, France）
2022 “Lui Araki Photo Exhibition”｜Ennoji（Kiyosumi-shirakawa, Tokyo）
2023 “PERCEPTION”｜THE NORTH FACE Standard（Kyoto／Kyotographie・KG+）
2023 “UNVAIL.”｜Inherit Gallery（Tokyo）
2023 “UNVAIL.”｜Inherit Gallery Books（Tokyo）
2023 “PERCEPTION”｜THE NORTH FACE Standard（Hiroshima）
2023 “PERCEPTION”｜THE NORTH FACE Standard（Nikotamagawa, Tokyo）
2024 “fragments”｜Inherit Gallery（Tokyo）
2024 “Color/Scape”｜Atsuhiko Suematsu Gallery（Tokyo）
2024 “Lui Araki photo exhibition”｜Cour Mably（Connect Festival / Bordeaux, France）
2025 “Pieces”｜NOTEWORKS（Tokyo）

Group Exhibitions
2009 Look Gallery（Nakano, Tokyo）
2012 “Street than Paradise”｜MOSCOW（Nakameguro, Tokyo）
2015 “Point of view”｜Harold & co（Harajuku, Tokyo）
2017 “Harold Hunter Foundation Benefit Photo Show”（New York）
2018 “Psych Blues” with Dustin Adams｜Guru’s Cut & Stand（Tokyo）
2018 “Psych Blues” with Dustin Adams｜J-01 Gallery（Hong Kong）
2018 “Magenta & Friends”（Paris, France）
2018 “NEW MOON”（Seoul, Korea）
2019 “BULLY”（Taipei, Taiwan）
2021 “OAK INN”｜BEAMS T Harajuku（Tokyo）
2021 “Lui Araki × Hirotton”｜Joint Gallery（Harajuku, Tokyo）
2022 “un/FAMILIAR”｜Book & Job Gallery（San Francisco, USA）
2022 “Lui Araki / Marimo”｜Nick Jerkey Kobe（Hyogo）
2024 “D.O.K.O.”｜Paddlers Coffee（Tokyo）
2025 “Bigei / 美藝”｜Atsuhiko Suematsu Gallery（Tokyo）

Skateboarding (Selected Activities)
1995 Won the AJSA National Championship; obtained pro qualification
1996 Signed as rider with Murasaki Sports and DC Shoes
1998 Signed as rider with ZOO YORK
1999 Contracts with Strush Wheels and Thunder Trucks
2002 Featured in ZOO YORK “MixTape 2” and R.B. Umali’s “EST”
2003 Featured in ZOO YORK “City of Killers”
2008 Released a full part with Strush Wheels “Collective Improvisation”; signed with Dostech (Bearings)
2009 Signed with NITRAID SB; released full part “RAIDBACK”
2011 Released full part “A.N.T.I” with NITRAID SB
2012 Signed with AREth Shoes; released full part “CityScape” with Strush Wheels
2014 Signed with Kukunochi (Magenta Skateboards)
2015 Signed with Flowgressive (Bearings); filmed in Milan with the Magenta Skateboards crew (“Milano Rages” on YouTube)
2017 Rider contract with Eyevol (sunglasses brand)
2022 Traveled to France to film for Magenta Skateboards DVD “Just Cruise 2”
2023 Released a full part with Magenta Skateboards: “Just Cruise 2” (YouTube)