Dates: Saturday, August 10, 2024 - Monday, August 26, 2024
Time: 11:00 - 20:00
Location: Bunkamura Gallery 8/
Price: Free admission
City pop, a new type of Japanese music, was hugely popular from the late 1970s to the 1980s. It has been making a comeback since the 2000s, and continues to hold a special place in our hearts. The music has influenced not only genres but also fashion and art, becoming a major part of Japanese culture and attracting attention not only from Japan but from all over the world.

Hiroshi Nagai is largely responsible for elevating city pop to culture. Nagai, who designed the artwork for Eiichi Ohtaki's album "A LONG VACATION" released in 1981, beautifully visualized the urban yet tropical music with its comfortable rhythm and skyscrapers. His consistent style over more than 40 years is now loved by all generations as a symbol of the city pop movement.

This exhibition, the third at Bunkamura Gallery, will feature Nagai's original artworks for sale, ranging from his precious older works to his latest works.
A breeze in the scorching heat. The sound of rippling waves and swaying palm trees.
The dazzling sun and sky can only be experienced during this summer season.
We hope you will come and see the new scenery, which has not changed since back then, in the heart of the city at Shibuya Hikarie.

Hiroshi Nagai
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Born on December 22, 1947 in Tokushima City.
After working as a graphic designer, he began working as an illustrator in 1976.
He is good at tropical and clear landscape illustrations, as exemplified by the record jackets of Eiichi Ohtaki's "A LONG VACATION" and "NIAGARA SONG BOOK". He also won a gold disc from CBS Sony as a "Special Album Jacket Award" for his album jacket "A LONG VACATION". His illustration style has established a unique reputation through his work on Eiichi Ohtaki's record jackets, and he has also adorned the record and CD jackets of many other artists, including Southern All Stars, Naoya Matsuoka, Kei Ishiguro, Hiroshi Fujiwara and Hiroshi Kawabe, Yuugadan, and Kiyotaka Sugiyama. In recent years, he has been responsible for the jacket artwork for the AOR compilation series "breeze," ikkubaru's "Amusement Park" and "brighter," TEEN RUNNINGS' "NOW," Sunny Day Service's "DANCE TO YOU," and the first and second compilations of "Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1976-1986" released by Light In The Attic Records in the United States. In September 2020, he held an exhibition in Sydney, Australia.

<Publications>
"A LONG VACATION" 1979 CBS Sony Publishing
"HALATION" 1981 Shogakukan
"NIAGARA SONGBOOK" 1982 Bunkasha
"Time Goes By..." 2008 Fukkan.com
「CONTRAST」2019
「NITEFLYTE」2020
「FAVORITE」2021
「THE JOURNEY BEGINS」2022

Venue