Works born from Deep Consideration of Cultural Identity and Physicality

A group exhibition "ShugoArts Show—Sprout" featuring Clara Spilliaert is being held at ShugoArts from 30 August to 4 October 2025. Born in Tokyo in 1993, Spilliaert relocated in 2009 to Belgium, her father's homeland. After completing her graduate studies at LUCA School of Arts in Ghent, she has continued her artistic practice there. Having come of age during the sensitive period of transition from childhood to adulthood, Spilliaert grew up navigating the fluctuations of cultural identity. She possesses a deep sensitivity toward nature, animals, the body, and gender while she is strongly drawn to the stories and histories of land and peoples. These interests form the foundation of her creative practice, giving rise to a distinctive̶and at times humorous̶worldview that transcends various boundaries and resonates with collective consciousness and ancestral roots.

Copyright the artist, Courtesy of ShugoArts, Photo by Shigeo Muto
「ShugoArts Showースプラウト」展示風景, 2025, シュウゴアーツ
"ShugoArts Show —Sprout,” Installation view, 2025, ShugoArts

Copyright the artist, Courtesy of ShugoArts, Photo by Shigeo Muto「ShugoArts Showースプラウト」展示風景, 2025, シュウゴアーツ"ShugoArts Show —Sprout,” Installation view, 2025, ShugoArts

Copyright the artist, Courtesy of ShugoArts, Photo by Shigeo Muto「ShugoArts Showースプラウト」展示風景, 2025, シュウゴアーツ"ShugoArts Show —Sprout,” Installation view, 2025, ShugoArts

This exhibition features six works that chart Spilliaert's creative path, highlighted by the ceramic sculpture Spruit Family Tree (from Family Tree series), first shown in Belgium in 2021, together with a selection of early drawings. To echo the corporeality and vital energy that underpin her practice, we are also presenting works by Masato Kobayashi, Naofumi Maruyama, Anju Michele, Ritsue Mishima, and Yoriko Takabatake.

Copyright the artist, Courtesy of ShugoArts, Photo by Shigeo Muto「ShugoArts Showースプラウト」展示風景, 2025, シュウゴアーツ"ShugoArts Show —Sprout,” Installation view, 2025, ShugoArts

Copyright the artist, Courtesy of ShugoArts, Photo by Shigeo Muto「ShugoArts Showースプラウト」展示風景, 2025, シュウゴアーツ"ShugoArts Show —Sprout,” Installation view, 2025, ShugoArts

Copyright the artist, Courtesy of ShugoArts, Photo by Shigeo Muto「ShugoArts Showースプラウト」展示風景, 2025, シュウゴアーツ"ShugoArts Show —Sprout,” Installation view, 2025, ShugoArts

Clara SPILLIAERT

Born in Tokyo in 1993, Spilliaert relocated in 2009 to Belgium. After completing her graduate studies at LUCA School of Arts in Ghent, she has continued her artistic practice there. Spilliaert weaves personal experiences, historical perspectives, and elements of nature into her work, presenting them through a wide range of media ̶ from drawings, including a seven-year visual diary, to murals, ceramics, and installations. Underlying her practice is a keen interest in the role of symbols in cultural formation and the ways they reveal connections between nature and the human body. Her reflections on culture and history also bring a distinctive character to her public space projects, where she crafts new narratives. Spilliaert creates a distinctive, and at times humorous, worldview that transcends various boundaries and resonates with collective consciousness and ancestral roots.

Selected exhibitions: "My Sister is Pregnant", Kunsthal Gent, Ghent, 2024; "Stambomen", Keteleer Gallery, Antwerp, 2024; "Hairy Tale", Lichtekooi Artspace, Antwerp, 2023; "Clara Sekirara", Contemporary Art Foundation, Tokyo, 2022; "Publiek Park", Friends of S.M.A.K., Ghent, 2021. Selected Public Collections: Mu.Zee (Ostend, Belgium), the National Bank of Belgium (Brussels, Belgium). Her permanent works include installations at Kunsthal Extra City (Antwerp) and public art commissions in the Belgian cities of Geraardsbergen, Kruibeke, and Leuven. Awards: Prix Fintro Prijs Supporting Young Artist, Winner Visual Arts, Belgium, 2023; Contemporary Art Foundation CAF Award 2020, Grand Prize, Japan, 2020.