By my side

Mayumi Nakao (Japanese) is a visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her paintings expand the subject of traditional realist figurative portraiture through detailed depictions of everyday life, often set within richly colored, patterned domestic environments. Central to her practice is the exploration of "Shared Nostalgia" and "Realistic Nostalgia." Drawing from childhood memories of 1990s Japan, cross-cultural encounters, and her experience of migrating to New York, Nakao captures fleeting, familiar moments of human experience—such as figures in quiet reflection within private spaces surrounded by cherished objects of daily life. Through careful execution of composition, rich color, and shifting perspectives, she transforms ordinary situations into visually compelling, structured works that evoke the psychological depth and inner worlds of her subjects. Nakao studied oil painting at the Art Students League of New York for four years. Her work has been exhibited internationally in solo and group exhibitions across New York, Tokyo, and Paris. Notably, she was selected as a finalist for The Bennett Prize in 2023, exhibiting at the Muskegon Museum of Art, and was featured in the “Brooklyn Artists Exhibition” at the Brooklyn Museum (2024–2025). Her work has also been recognized in New American Paintings and is currently featured in the exhibition “Ode to the Orange Seats” at the New York Transit Museum. Nakao has participated in international residencies in Côte d’Ivoire and Italy, which continue to inform her cross-cultural engagement and vibrant portrayal of collective memory.