This spring, Ki Niseko Gallery is pleased to present YUKIYAMA Journey, a new exhibition by renowned, Niseko-based artist Yoriko Okumura. Running from 1 March to 7 April 2026, the exhibition features 11 works inspired by Japan’s snowy mountains, each captured through Okumura’s deeply personal and intuitive perspective.
In the winter of 2023, Okumura placed her snowboard and sketchbook into her car and set off on a journey across Japan.
She wanted to experience more than Niseko alone; to see the wider mountain landscapes of Japan with her own eyes and feel them with her own body. That desire became the beginning of YUKIYAMA Journey.
Along the way, she encountered not only the grandeur and beauty of the mountains, but also the daily lives, cultures, and quiet atmospheres of the communities rooted in those landscapes. Her works carefully reflect this connection between nature and people, not simply as scenery, but as lived experience.
At first glance, her paintings are visually striking. Yet as you learn the stories behind them, new layers begin to unfold.
Okumura does not paint landscapes exactly as they appear. Instead, she captures the colours and emotions of a place through her intuitive “mind’s eye,” transforming them into expressive works of art.
Using vivid paints alongside delicate touches of pencil and oil pastel, she pays close attention to every detail and texture. During the creative process, she enters into a quiet dialogue with each piece; exploring colour, composition, and form without being bound by convention or expectation.
The result is a free-spirited world born from a pure sense of enjoyment. The joy and openness within her work gently reaches the hearts of those who view it.
This exhibition offers a valuable opportunity to experience Okumura’s worldview, shaped by mountains, movement, and a life closely connected to nature.
Yoriko Okumura was born in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture. After graduating from Kyoto University of Education (Department of Design) in 2005, she continued her studies at the University of the Arts London.
She later returned to Japan and made Niseko her home.
Now based in Niseko, she continues to create while skiing and snowboarding in the mountains that inspire her daily life.
For Okumura, snowboarding and painting are the two central pillars of her world. The sensibilities born from living closely with the mountains are deeply woven into every piece she creates.
Exhibition Period: 1 March – 7 April 2026
Location: Ki Niseko Gallery
Admission: Free and open to everyone, including non-staying guests
