Yusuke Hanai: Perseverance at Pace Prints
November 21, 2025
By Kyoko Sato
Yusuke Hanai’s First Solo Exhibition in New York
Human culture has long developed alongside—and often in struggle with—water. Throughout history, the desire to overcome nature and the pursuit of harmonious coexistence have continuously intersected. In particular, the dual nature of water—its power to grant blessings and bring about destruction—has profoundly shaped the rise of civilizations.
Around 3000 BCE, the Nile and the Tigris–Euphrates rivers repeatedly flooded their surroundings, causing devastation while simultaneously creating fertile land that nurtured early civilizations. Looking to modern times, the tsunami that struck Japan’s Tohoku region in 2011 caused immense damage; yet even so, people continue to face the sea and live alongside it.
Yusuke Hanai’s artistic universe resonates deeply with this enduring relationship between humans and nature. Each of his works carefully draws from familiar, everyday phenomena, guiding us back to a primordial understanding of how humans have lived within the natural world.
This becomes clear in Yusuke Hanai: Perseverance, his first solo exhibition in New York City, currently on view at Pace Prints. Through surfing, Hanai has personally experienced both the tension and harmony that arise in encounters with the ocean. He interprets that culture not merely as a facet of surf or sports culture, but as something that connects to human spirituality and ways of life, depicting scenes rooted in concrete experiences. As a result, his works evoke a profoundly universal sense of empathy, garnering broad support across borders and cultures.
For this exhibition, Yusuke Hanai spoke about his creative approach and the theme of “perseverance.” His words offer valuable insights that deepen our understanding of the world he brings to life through his art.
Lessons of “Overcoming” and “Harmony” Learned from the Sea
Yusuke Hanai describes the essential allure of surfing through his own lived experience:
“It all starts with paddling out to the point where the waves break, and in the beginning, just getting out to the lineup is incredibly difficult. You get tossed around by big waves again and again, exhausted, and only after all that do you finally reach the place where you can actually catch a wave. When I first started, I couldn’t ride a single one—I would just paddle until my strength was drained. But then, after all that effort, the moment I finally caught my first wave, I thought, What on earth is this feeling? Once you experience that, you can’t quit.”
When Hanai began surfing, there were no beginner-friendly longboards or high-buoyancy boards like there are today. Boards were thin and didn’t move easily no matter how hard you paddled. Reaching the offshore breaks and facing large waves head-on was considered the mark of a “real man” and a “real surfer,” and many people gave up because of how grueling it was. The fear of being swallowed by a huge wave—of possibly drowning—was real. And yet, beyond those extreme moments, there comes a sensation of becoming one with nature.
Surfing holds within it a narrative of challenge, endurance, overcoming, and harmony. Hanai quietly instills this “story of persevering” until overcoming into each of his works.
For example, in Untitled (higher) (2025), a cat stretches desperately toward a spider on the ceiling. Below, a child lifts the cat up, cheering it on. A natural story of effort, companionship, and encouragement emerges within this small scene. In many other works, Hanai depicts a person who has fallen short of their goal and another figure who gently stays beside them, offering comfort. His paintings do not celebrate great achievements, but rather the dignity of the process that precedes them.
Surf culture carries a deeply rooted DIY (Do It Yourself) spirit. Surfers repair their own boards, face the ocean by their own rules alongside their friends, and handle what needs to be done themselves rather than relying on others. To take responsibility for one’s choices and stand as an independent individual—this sensibility naturally develops when confronting the vastness of the sea. Only someone who has cultivated such strength and independence can show true kindness and genuine respect for others. Surf culture embodies that philosophy.
Hanai’s Conversation (2025) also reflects these values. The speech bubbles symbolize the varying opinions and perspectives of the characters. Sometimes they overlap; sometimes they diverge entirely. Yet even while holding differences, people can remain in harmony and continue to engage in dialogue. Quietly present in the work is a form of hope—one that resonates with the ethos of New York City, an international community where we strive to live together while respecting diversity.
Japan and Internationalism in Hanai’s Work
Yusuke Hanai was born in Kanagawa in 1978 and grew up in Japan. Yet after taking up surfing in high school, he was exposed to American surf culture and the wider expressive world that surrounded it. Surfing in Japan traces its roots to around 1960, when local boys along the coasts of Shōnan (in Kanagawa) and Chiba began imitating the American servicemen they saw surfing there—crafting their own boards and experimenting on the waves. (1)
Hanai recalls:
“I admired the American counterculture—artists like Rick Griffin—who refused to follow predetermined tracks and carried a rebellious spirit. I wanted to draw things that felt Californian. I would copy old surf magazines and rock posters, trying whatever I could to make my work look American.”
At the same time, the manga and anime he grew up with deeply shaped his visual vocabulary.
“I used to copy manga as a kid—Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, Kinnikuman, Captain Tsubasa. I think everyone in my generation, especially those of us in our late forties, went through Akira Toriyama.”
Hanai’s work embodies a distinctive hybridity, merging elements from both Japanese and American visual cultures in a way that changes depending on who is looking. To some, it may feel manga-like; to others, it evokes the energy of American comics. In the case of Jacob Lewis, President of Pace Prints, he recalls encountering Hanai’s work for the first time:
“I saw a kindred spirit, someone who was in dialogue with many of the artists I’ve been a fan of for a very long time, including Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, and Geoff McFetridge, as well as underground comic artists like R. Crumb. His unique graphic style, sense of humor, and sensitivity immediately pulled me in, and when the opportunity to present his first solo exhibition in New York came up, I didn’t hesitate to try and make it happen. After seeing the new body of work in person for the first time, I was struck by the softness that Yusuke was able to achieve with his line and colors, which serves as a counterpoint to the anxiety of his characters and subject matter in such a revealing and human way.”
Hanai also draws inspiration from Japanese literature. In Untitled (crab in a bottle) (2025), for example, he reflects on the worldview embedded in Masuji Ibuse’s short story Sanshōuo (The Salamander).
“A small salamander crawls between two rocks and becomes afraid to come back out. Before it realizes it, it grows too large to escape. People are the same—if you stay inside the house and rely on others without becoming independent, you’ll never take on challenges. You shouldn’t miss the moment to step outside. That’s how I interpreted the story.”
This interpretation, too, reflects the spirit of self-reliance rooted in surf culture. Hanai’s works portray not only our relationship with nature and the significance of challenge, but also offer quiet, intimate lessons about life itself.
Hanai’s Proposal for a Simple, Harmonious Life
Through surfing, Hanai has learned what he considers the essence of life: the patience required before catching a wave; the overwhelming sense of achievement in the moment he finally rides one; and the deep harmony that arises when he becomes one with the ocean. All of these lessons were cultivated through direct, physical encounters with the vastness of nature.
From a sport practiced on the open sea emerged a way of thinking centered on “building one’s own life with one’s own hands,” “respecting the natural environment,” and “valuing community and teamwork.” Hanai carries these principles with him and puts them into practice. He continues to pick up trash along the shore, has collaborated with Uniqlo on T-shirts made from recycled materials, and has worked with Erik Caruso, Shepard Fairey, and others on art programs for children with limited access to education on the West Coast.
In other words, amid humanity’s attempts to overcome nature, what truly matters is the wisdom that nature itself imparts. Hanai internalizes these lessons and transforms them into “stories” embodied in each of his works. Speaking about his own way of life, he says:
“Being able to draw and paint like I do now, having time to surf, spending time with my family—and fortunately, having people who buy my work or offer me jobs when they see something in it—honestly, that’s enough for me. I don’t feel much desire to climb to the top of the fine art world.”
Behind these unpretentious words lies a philosophy of knowing what is enough, honed over years of facing the natural world. When he received an offer for a solo exhibition from Pace, he spoke with Yoshitomo Nara over a meal and was encouraged: “You should do it.” The very situation—being invited by one of the world’s top galleries and seeking advice from one of the world’s leading artists—is remarkable. Yet Hanai himself is neither arrogant nor shaken by it. Instead, he maintains a quiet, sincere attitude. That honesty resonates deeply with us.
Surfing takes place on the immense, absolute stage of nature. The philosophy Hanai has drawn from that environment lives vibrantly at the core of his art. His works gently—yet unmistakably—remind us that, in the end, our way of living as human beings is always an extension of the greater forces of nature.
Yusuke Hanai: Perseverance
November 14 – December 20, 2025
Pace Prints | 536 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011
https://paceprints.com/2025/yusuke-hanai
References
(1) https://www.nsa-surf.org/basic/history/