“TYPE-XVI Etsu Egami project” is a collaborative project with emerging artist Etsu Egami.

Known for her bold lines, vivid colours, and powerful brushstrokes reminiscent of calligraphy, Egami explores the theme of communication through her artistic practice. After graduating from an art university overseas, she has presented her work in numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad, establishing an international presence and receiving numerous awards at a young age. In recent years, she has explored the possibilities of painting through portraiture, questioning the essence of humanity and our relationships with others.

For the first installment of this project, three works from Egami’s representative portrait series, RAINBOW-Pablo Picasso, RAINBOW-Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and RAINBOW-Paul Cézanne, have been reinterpreted as blousons. Egami’s dynamic and richly varied brushstrokes are translated through A-POC ABLE’s jacquard weaving techniques. By transforming art from something to be viewed into something to be “worn,” the project proposes a new way of incorporating art into everyday life.

From Etsu Egami
What is a painting? This fundamental question lies at the core of this project.

Being two-dimensional does not necessarily make something a painting. What is it that makes a work a “painting”? Perhaps its essence lies in its materiality, presence, and relationship to our perception.

To explore this question, I selected portraits of Cézanne, Renoir, and Picasso, three artists who shaped modern painting. By leaving the eyes and nose undefined and suggesting the presence of a “face” through light and shadow, as well as Eastern-inspired lines and brushstrokes, I explore new possibilities for portraiture.

The three blousons are more than garments, they are the culmination of a dialogue about painting. Through clothing as a new canvas, this project seeks to redefine the question: What is painting?

Etsu Egami
Born in Chiba, Japan in 1994, Etsu Egami is an internationally exhibiting artist and Visiting Professor at Kyorin University School of Medicine, where she practices art therapy. Drawing on her experiences overseas, she creates works that visualise miscommunication through discrepancies, misperceptions, and mishearing, exploring the nuances of communication.
In 2020, she exhibited at the VOCA exhibition at the Ueno Royal Museum In Japan. In 2021, she was selected for Forbes Asia’s “30 Under 30” and sent to New York by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as an emerging artist. In 2024, she was selected as one of the “Asia-Pacific U30 Outstanding Young Leaders.” In 2025, she received the top award at the Art Karlsruhe fair in Germany, and her work was acquired by the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe museum. She has also exhibited at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and in the opening exhibition of OAR Museum in Korea.