REINAUCHIDA
CV
UCHIDA Reina
内田麗奈
The presence of a curtain suggests that there must be a “window.”
I create curtains because I want to imagine the window that lies beyond.
About 60,000 years ago, Cro-Magnons painted on cave walls.
Through the power of imagination, their drawings gave form to hope and dreams.
In the pitch-black darkness of those caves, I imagine the Cro-Magnons were dreaming of “windows.”
Today, windows are an essential part of our lives.
Even if the sun disappeared and we created an artificial one, we would still build windows.
I replaced the cave with a room and decided to hang a curtain on a blank wall—because I wanted to imagine the “window” beyond it.
That’s how Dream of Cro-Magnon was born.
Beyond the crushed velour curtain shaped like a cave, I began creating a pencil-drawn manga titled Hajimari ha Cro-magnon—as the “window.”
It is the story of a Cro-Magnon girl who becomes a cave painter.
The protagonist is me—20,000 years ago.
I tore a page from my sketchbook and began drawing with a pencil.
Reina, the main character, tries to draw the images in her mind on soil, beaches, or tree bark, but they’re always erased by waves, rain, animals, or the forces of nature.
She wants to show them to her partner, Taisuke, but never gets the chance.
“I want to show them—somehow!”
The story begins with her journey to the sacred site of art: the El Castillo cave, in search of a way to make her drawings last.
The story focuses on the Cro-Magnons who struggled to preserve their imagination in an age when everything disappeared.
But the struggles they faced are not so different from our own.
What I value most is this question: How do we draw the present? How do we live in the present?
In times of hardship or doubt, I find myself learning from the Cro-Magnons—from their wisdom, their dreams, and their courage.
April, 2024
Reina Uchida
Born in 1993, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Education
2017
Graduated from Nagoya University of the Arts, Department of Fine Arts, Western Painting Course II
2019
Completed Master’s Program in Oil Painting, Department of Fine Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts
Solo Exhibitions
2020
Dream of Cro-Magnon (Seibu Shibuya “Art meets Life”)
2021
Dream of Cro-Magnon (HIGURE 17-15 cas)
2022
Dream of Cro-Magnon (TAKU SOMETANI GALLERY)
2023
Publication Commemorative Exhibition: “It All Began with the Cro-Magnon — I Might Leave for El Castillo Tomorrow!”
(TAKU SOMETANI GALLERY)
2024
Dream of Cro-Magnon: “Where’s Reina?” — Shimokitazawa Arts Edition (Shimokitazawa Arts)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019
SHIBUYA STILE vol.13 (Seibu Shibuya Gallery)
2022
ON PAPER (TAKU SOMETANI GALLERY)
2022
Before the Break: The Next Generation of Artists (Artglorieux, GINZA SIX, Tokyo)
2023
Atsuhiko Misawa: ANIMALS / Multi-dimensions (Chiba City Museum of Art)
※ Contributed a portrait work titled “You’re a Cro-Magnon Too☆♪!” featuring Atsuhiko Misawa
2023
Before the Break in Kanazawa: Now Selection – Before the Break (ASTER)
2023
CHANGTING GALLERY 3RD EXHIBITION (CHANGTING GALLERY)
2024
Expression Vol.3 (CHANGTING GALLERY)
2024
ON PAPER (TAKU SOMETANI GALLERY)
2024
ART SESSION by GINZA TSUTAYA BOOKS (GINZA ATRIUM, GINZA TSUTAYA BOOKS)
Publication
2023
It All Began with the Cro-Magnon (Vol. 1) (Published by ART DIVER)
Awards
2017
Excellence Award, 44th Graduation Exhibition of Nagoya University of the Arts
2017
President’s Award, 2016 Academic Year, Nagoya University of the Arts
2017
Selected for Kamiyama Foundation Art Support Program
Media Appearance
2022
Featured on BS Fuji’s “Before the Break: The Next Generation of Artists”