Gadou Rei uses discarded materials and live painting to portray dragons in constant transformation. Guided by the belief that being alive is itself an art, he continues to create in natural settings. His activities range from live painting at the Shiga Museum of Art and fusuma painting for Art in Nagahama to solo exhibitions in various locations.
Gadou Rei
Japan
⬤ Works in 2026
Days of Dragons
⬤ Message
I want to live freely, just as I feel.
In this exhibition, I express this real desire through eight dragons emerging from the body, using materials that are no longer needed.
East, west, north, and south—every day is a journey. Living in the present and moving through ever-changing days, I create art in nature. Through repeated live-painting sessions, the work itself changes just as people do, becoming a playful and evolving piece.
To be alive is itself an art.
⬤ Biography
1962 Born in Yahata, Fukuoka
1972 Discovered art at the Ohara Museum of Art (Kurashiki)
1990–2000 Traveled around the world 30 times and developed an understanding of art
2018 First solo exhibition (Osaka)
2022–2023 Jogonin Contemporary Art Exhibition (Shiga)
2023 Live painting at the Shiga Museum of Art / mural production at Za Gallery (Shiga) / fusuma painting for Art in Nagahama (Shiga)
2024 Two-person exhibition with Keiichi Yabuno (Hiroshima)
2025 Solo exhibition at Higashiosaka Civic Gallery (Osaka) / Bronze Prize, Kurashiki Art Contest
2026 Fusuma painting (ink dragon) at Ishikiri Shrine (Higashiosaka) / folding-screen live painting at Iteza Gallery (Kurashiki)