An Exhibition Exploring the Value and Standards of Physical Beauty
ADF (NPO Aoyama Design Forum) is pleased to present “Unframing the bodies,” the 35th exhibition of the “ADF Art Gallery Project,” by artists Namae Myoji and Ayuko Takahashi, from Friday, September 5 to Saturday, September 20, 2025.
Namae Myoji presents three-dimensional works using dressing tables, suggesting that placing value on physical “beauty” and “attractiveness” is an act that leads to confidence and joy for the subject seeking it, while also being something imposed by the gaze of others and social oppression.

Namae Myoji, Alter Dominant, 2025
Takahashi focuses on the act of treating the body as a material. In her paintings, which reconfigure artificial flowers in a patchwork-like manner, she suggests the fragmented nature of the body, adjusted by its parts. In another work, where she casts her own skin in silicone to form a bag-shaped object, she attempts to transform materials of differing value, expressing a gaze toward the current state of cosmetic medicine, which treats the body as a material.

Ayuko Takahashi, plastic flowers, oil paint on canvas, 1303×894 mm, 2025
Please take this opportunity to view the exhibition.
Artist Profile
Namae Myoji
Based on her own experiences, she deals with issues surrounding the body, sexuality, identity, and consumption. In recent years, she has been focusing on the potential of “narrative” in her work using text.
Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1987
2019 Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts
Selected Exhibitions
2025 “In the beginning, Womankind was the sun - Weren't we?” (KOTARO NUKAGA Three) / Solo Exhibition “Not an Epilogue” (spiral art gallery)
2024 Solo Exhibition “I’ll Give You a Name” (N project)
2023 ATAMI ART GRANT 2023 (Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture) / Solo Exhibition “Babel and Utopia,” Grand Prize in the SICF23 EXHIBITION category (Spiral)
2022 CAF Award 2022 (Daikanyama Hillside Terrace)
Ayuko Takahashi
Focuses on “lookism” in her work. Recently, she has been exploring themes such as physicality, gender, and human relationships that arise from this concept. Based on interviews and personal experiences, she creates and presents her work through painting, installation, and writing.
Born in 1994
2018 Graduated from Tama Art University, Faculty of Fine Arts
2021 Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts
Selected Exhibitions
2023 “The Fairest Fairs #2” (TAV GALLERY) / “Contraction and Removal” (HIRO OKAMOTO GALLERY)
2022 Solo Exhibition “Kalavinka” (TAV GALLERY)
2021 Solo Exhibition “no exit” (JINEN GALLERY)

Dates: September 5–20, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Venue: GARDE Gallery (ALLIANCE Building 4F, 5-2-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Closed: Sundays and national holidays