Maya Hirasawa Brauer

Presenting the first North American  showing of their new body of Buddhist-inspired oil paintings.

In the solo exhibition

“The Ten Realms”

Artist Reception & Exhibition Opening on

Saturday, April 11, 2026, 7-9pm. Everybody welcome.

“The Ten Realms” explores the Buddhist concept of the Ten Realms of existence through brightly colored oil paintings that move between figuration and atmosphere. Rather than presenting the realms as distant metaphysical destinations, Hirasawa Brauer depicts them as lived states of mind that arise within individuals from moment to moment—rage, compassion, despair, and enlightenment existing simultaneously within the human condition.

Inspired by the artist’s early experiences with Buddhist ritual in Japan and later study of Nichiren-shū teachings, the paintings reflect on the permeability of these realms and their presence in everyday life. Created during a period marked by social instability and urgency, the works invite viewers into a space of stillness and self-reflection, asking what it means to recognize these shifting inner states as they arise and whether that recognition might open the possibility for growth and transformation.