Mayumi Nakao Japanese, b. 1985

Mayumi Nakao (b. 1985) is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work revolves around the unique concept of “borrowed nostalgia.” Her works brim with heartwarming sentimentality while showcasing her innate sense of color and perspective.

When Nakao emigrated from Japan in 2013, she experienced feelings of isolation and hopelessness. During this time, she found solace in a close friend from Ghana, which inspired her to create a body of work based on his childhood photographs. The images, which depicted her friend and his family enjoying their time in America, reminded her of her own family back home. The resulting paintings are both distinct yet universal - though based on photographs of one individual family, they feature snapshots of life that anyone can relate to.

Nakao fills these scenes with bright colors and retro patterns that evoke an unspecified sense of years past. The striped wallpapers and checkered linoleum floors hint at midcentury America as the scattered soda cans conjure the ad campaigns of the Pepsi Generation. Adding to this sense of nostalgia, children feature prominently in Nakao’s work. Whether staring intently at their toys or enjoying a walk on the beach, these children symbolize the potential for the future, a blank canvas onto which anything can be projected. They remind the viewer of their own childhood - a time of shared discovery and innocence before social barriers and cultural biases can set in.

Mayumi Nakao was born in Hyogo, Japan and graduated from the Sozosha Design School for Illustrators in Osaka. She moved to New York City in 2013 to study painting and the English language. She now resides in Brooklyn, where she maintains a consistent studio practice. She is currently a finalist for The Bennet Prize and her work is held in numerous esteemed collections.