“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.

CHALK Gallery is pleased to show Hirasawa Brauer’s first North American Exhibition of Buddhist-inspired oil paintings including works with their vibrant signature Japanese Pop style.

Maya Hirasawa Brauer (they/them) is a painter born in Tokyo in 1997 and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA, Painting, 2019). Through vividly diverse colors, inspired by their personal experiences as a nonbinary queer person of color, their work explores spirituality, the dynamism of human relationships, and seeks to challenge the white ethnocentric canon of Western art. Their work has been shown in galleries around the world, including in the United States, Italy, Argentina, the Netherlands, and Japan as part of various group exhibitions. Ten Realms marks Hirasawa Brauer’s third solo exhibition, following two solo shows in Tokyo in 2024.