【AAFHK2026 #3】Kenji Shimizu at Gallery Seek Booth F02 — Bridolly Flies to Hong Kong

Kenji Shimizu — Artist page
Biography, available works and enquiries

From May 14 (Thu) to 17 (Sun), Gallery Seek exhibits at Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2026, at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Find us at Booth F02. Today we introduce Kenji Shimizu (b. 1971, Nagoya).
A graduate of Tama Art University (Oil Painting, 1994) and Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School (Design, Chinami Nakajima Lab, 2014), Shimizu brings deep training in classical Japanese imagery and composition to a contemporary painting practice. In 2016 he published his art book *BRIDOLLY* and appeared on BS Fuji’s “Break Zen-ya” series introducing the next generation of Japanese artists.
Shimizu’s signature series places his original character “Bridolly” (舞利鳥) — born from an old tin wind-up bird toy — inside the world of Japanese classical imagery: Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Jakuchu’s Colorful Realm of Living Beings, Choju-giga (Scrolls of Frolicking Animals), and Rinpa school motifs. Bridolly cannot fly, but keeps jumping until its spring rusts — a symbol of dignity within constraint. It transforms into phoenixes, three-legged crows (yatagarasu), and dragons across the series.
His approach to dragon-painting is unusual: rather than relying on common iconography, he reconstructs from text sources. The dragon’s snout, for instance, takes from ancient textual descriptions that liken its skull to a camel’s. Through textual reconstruction, he builds a singular vocabulary of mythical creatures. His backgrounds employ natural wood-grain drawing in gold, silver leaf, and pastel work on honeycomb board — a flexibility of support and medium that’s rare in contemporary Japanese painting.
【Hong Kong selection: 5 pieces, HKD 6,368 – 55,579】
▶ BRIDOLLY-Phoenix- (2024) / 10F / HKD 55,579 — Bridolly transforms into a phoenix. Latest in his signature series.
▶ Sun and Blue Dragon (2023) / 10M / HKD 46,316 — Eastern guardian symbol. Textual reconstruction visible in the scale work.
▶ Ryukin and BRIDOLLY (2022) / 6F / HKD 27,789 — A virtuoso piece with natural wood-grain drawn in gold leaf.
▶ decontamination (2019) / 200×200mm / HKD 6,368 — Pastel on honeycomb board. Early Bridolly drawing.
▶ flapping its wings (2019) / 200×200mm / HKD 6,368 — Companion pastel drawing.
【Fair Information】
– Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong 2026
– May 14 (Thu) Private View – 17 (Sun) 2026
– Public Days: Fri 12-20 / Sat 10-19 / Sun 10-19
– Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)
– Gallery Seek Booth F02
▶ Inquiries: https://galleryseek.jp/artists/kenji-shimizu/