Born in Ishinomaki, Japan, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kelli Maeshiro received her BA in Studio Art from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and was the artist-in-residence at the Vermont Studio Center (USA) and the Women’s Studio Workshop (USA). Her previous solo shows include West Gallery (PH), Blanc Gallery (PH), Artery Art Space (PH), Mono8 Gallery (PH) and Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery (PH). Her works have been exhibited at National Museum of the Philippines, Circuit Performance Arts Theatre, iAcademy Nexus Gallery, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, and the Honolulu Museum of Art. She lives and works in between Manila, Philippines and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Born in 1982 in Hokkaido, Japan, Atsuko Yamagata is based in Gunma and works between Japan and the Philippines. Her practice is materially driven and process-based, spanning two-dimensional works and installations using glue, handmade paper, thread, fabric, pigment, and water.

Situated at the intersection of new materialism, feminist thought, and folkloric knowledge, her work explores forms of life and emotional universality. Drawing on microscopic imagery and local memory, she activates the agency of materials through processes of bleeding, layering, and accumulation, allowing works to emerge as events shaped by relations between matter, body, and time.

Recent presentations include Tokyo Gendai 2025; the Nakanojo Biennale (2017, 2019, 2023, 2025, Japan); a group exhibition at the Vargas Art Museum (2022); a two-person exhibition with Mervy Pueblo at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (2019–2020); and a solo exhibition at The Drawing Room (2025). She was a finalist of the Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2022.

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Artist overviews: Kelli Maeshiro, Atsuko Yamagata