SAIAKUNANA

BIOGRAPHY

SAIAKUNANA is a Japanese contemporary artist whose practice merges painting, performance, and music into a raw visual language of rebellion and self-expression. Her name, which translates to “the worst Nana,” originated from an offhand remark by a coworker early in her career—an insult she transformed into a declaration of creative defiance. Since then, her artistic journey has embodied a fearless independence, rejecting convention and celebrating imperfection as authenticity.

A graduate of a Tokyo technical design school, SAIAKUNANA began exhibiting in 2013 under her real name, later adopting her now-iconic moniker in 2015. Her aesthetic—vivid, emotional, and unapologetically punk—draws from rock culture, graphic design, and Japanese subcultures. Through expressive linework and explosive color, she constructs intimate narratives of resistance, desire, and freedom.

In 2018, she received the Grand Prize at the 21st Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art, one of Japan’s most prestigious recognitions for innovation. She used the entire award to fund a self-organized journey to New York, where she presented a solo exhibition, reinforcing her commitment to artistic autonomy. Her first art book, Art Rock Manifesto (DLE Publishing, 2019), further cemented her reputation as a voice of uncompromising individuality in Japan’s contemporary art scene. In 2021, she founded the SAIAKUNANA Gallery in London, entirely self-funded and dedicated exclusively to her work—an unprecedented act of self-determination in the art world. The following years saw major exhibitions including REBEL PINK (Hong Kong, 2022), ART OF MY LIFE (SAI, Tokyo, 2023), and MY WAY (Whimsy Works Gallery, Taiwan, 2025). Her work entered the OAR Contemporary Art Museum collection in South Korea in 2025.

Beyond the studio, SAIAKUNANA collaborates across disciplines, contributing artwork to the Netflix film “KATE” and designing visual material for musicians and independent brands. She continues to expand her practice internationally, presenting performances, live painting, and exhibitions across London, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Taipei.

Fiercely independent and unrepresented by any gallery since the beginning of her career, SAIAKUNANA operates entirely on her own terms—embodying a new model of the artist as both creator and catalyst. Her work is a living manifesto: energetic, feminine, and unfiltered, a reflection of life itself as an act of rebellion.