This Japanese Artist Is Creating Dreamy Visions With Glitter and Stickers

Pop-surrealist visions, feminine energy and glitter come together in this upcoming exhibition. The Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) in downtown Los Angeles presents Japanese artist Junna Maruyama's debut solo show in the US, titled Who Am I?.

Dreamy visions of melancholic female figures appear through a combination of pop art and surrealism, culminating in a fantasy world that will draw you right in. Maruyama works across painting, printmaking and sculpture, adding details that allude to girlhood, such as stickers, glitter and heart-shaped motifs. These gender-coded elements push the works into a world of play and imagination that feels instantly familiar.

The artist's subjects are drawn from fairy tales and folklore, painted with a vivid and evolving palette and portraying a doll-like innocence that is somewhat unsettling with an unreadable tension beneath the sweetness. This showcase will also feature her "Gyaru Series," which is very popular with fans in Asia and reflects the cultural connection to anime and manga. Inspired by the gyaru subculture in Japan, which was big in the late 90s and 2010s, it sees exaggerated and hyper-feminine aesthetics. The series was a way for the artist to reignite her fading passion.

Maruyama shared in a statement, "Who am I? isn't just something I ask the viewer; it's something I ask myself. I've dealt with a lot since I was young, and I've always turned inward. Those conversations with myself have fueled both my growth and my art." She adds, "A life full of experience leads to art with real weight."

The show opens on January 10 and will be on view until February 14, 2026. Head to the CHG website for more information.

In other art news, check out this exhibition showcasing hundreds of Labubu figurines.

Click here to view full gallery at Hypebae