Pop Culture Portraits with a Message
I am a self-taught artist who began painting in early 2019, despite not attending art school. My work features vivid, colorful compositions that merge cuteness and anger in a unique pop-culture style. Each piece is created by meticulously mixing colors by hand, showcasing my distinctive painting techniques. Inspired by Japanese Shoujo Manga (少女漫画) and contemporary pop art, I blend delicate flat painting with dynamic, childlike strokes to develop my signature pop art style.
My art goes beyond simple portraits—it tells stories of daily life through rebellious, young female figures. By using Appropriation Techniques, I reinterpret familiar imagery to comment on deeper themes like social anxiety and loneliness. While the bright, playful colors evoke happiness and charm, a closer look reveals hidden layers of dissatisfaction, sadness, and anger, reflecting the struggles people face in a society where true self-expression is often suppressed.
“My girls may look like little children, but they embody both you and me in the real world.”
Pop Culture Portraits with a Message
I am a self-taught artist who began painting in early 2019, despite not attending art school. My work features vivid, colorful compositions that merge cuteness and anger in a unique pop-culture style. Each piece is created by meticulously mixing colors by hand, showcasing my distinctive painting techniques. Inspired by Japanese Shoujo Manga (少女漫画) and contemporary pop art, I blend delicate flat painting with dynamic, childlike strokes to develop my signature pop art style.
My art goes beyond simple portraits—it tells stories of daily life through rebellious, young female figures. By using Appropriation Techniques, I reinterpret familiar imagery to comment on deeper themes like social anxiety and loneliness. While the bright, playful colors evoke happiness and charm, a closer look reveals hidden layers of dissatisfaction, sadness, and anger, reflecting the struggles people face in a society where true self-expression is often suppressed.
“My girls may look like little children, but they embody both you and me in the real world.”
2021: 1st Okuno Building Galleries Art Competition Awards
2020: 58th Toyota City Art Competition Awards
2020: 2020 Aichi Tsukushi Art Grand Prize Awards
2019: 29th All Japan Art Salon Painting Sakura Craypas Awards
2019: Tokyo Sky tree Art 2020
2018: Tokyo Postcard Awards 2019
2022 “Through Her Eyes” Contemporary Tokyo(当代東京), TERRADA ART COMPLEXⅡ, Tokyo, Japan
2021 Bell Nakai ”GIRLS”, The Waluso Gallery London, London, UK
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【Special Project】
2022: Avant Arte:Studio Project(Bell Nakai with Avant Arte) https://avantarte.com/artists/bell-nakai
2023: (Magazine) Art Collectors March 2023, “Sold out Artist Speacial Feature” Seikatsunotomosha, Japan
2022: (Magazine) Art Collectors July 2022, Seikatsunotomosha, Japan
2021: (TV) “Earthshot” Interview, TV Tokyo, Japan (2021/11/29)
2021: (Magazine) MIGHTY KIND Issue 6, MIGHTY KIND An Anti-Bias Education Company, USA(2021/4/11)
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