Events
Art Osaka 2026 × Osaka Art & Design 2026 Special Exhibition:Yanobe Kenji, “SHIP’S CAT (Cosmo Red)” and “SHIP’S CAT (Little Cosmo Red)”
Venue: Grand Green Osaka South Building Valley Space [MAP]
Dates: May 26 (Tue) – June 1 (Mon) , 2026
Co-organized by: Art Osaka 2026, Osaka Art & Design 2026
In cooperation with: Grand Green Osaka (Umekita MMO General Incorporated Association),
Kenji Yanobe Foundation, Chishima Foundation for Creative Osaka, Kyoto University of the Arts Ultra Factory
Art Osaka 2026 will present, for a limited time at Grand Green Osaka South Building Valley Space, the monumental sculpture “SHIP’S CAT (Cosmo Red)” and the new work “SHIP’S CAT (Little Cosmo Red)” by Yanobe Kenji. Co-organized with Osaka Art & Design 2026, this project marks Art Osaka’s first attempt at an outdoor presentation. During the fair, Yanobe’s works will also be specially presented at Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka, in “Enfants Terribles, Premonitions of Oblivion: Morimura Yasumasa, Yanobe Kenji, Yanagi Miwa”, and at MASK (Mega Art Storage Kitakagaya) in Kitakagaya. Giant “space cats” will appear simultaneously at three locations across Osaka.
“SHIP’S CAT (Cosmo Red)”:
This monumental sculpture, standing 3.8 meters tall, generated much excitement when on view at Ginza Six in Tokyo. It now makes an appearance at Grand Green Osaka.
“SHIP’S CAT (Little Cosmo Red)”:
This new work was created to commemorate a 2026 ascent to the stratosphere 20,000 meters above the ground.
This is the first time these two “parent and child” figures will be shown together.
Yanobe Kenji (contemporary artist)
Born in Osaka in 1965. Since the early 1990s, Yanobe has produced large-scale functional mechanical sculptures centered on the theme of survival in contemporary society. Combining humorous forms with social messages, his works have been widely recognized in Japan and abroad. Since 2008, he has served as a professor at Kyoto University of the Arts and director of Ultra Factory.
In 2017, he began the “SHIP’S CAT” series, drawing on the tradition of the sailor’s cat as a guardian of travel. Recent works include “SHIP’S CAT (Muse)” (2021), the symbol of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka, and “BIG CAT BANG” (2024), an installation in the central atrium of Ginza Six. In recent years, he has developed the story of the “space cat,” watching over the journey of life, through public art and a wide range of collaborative projects.
Works on View
“SHIP’S CAT (Cosmo Red)”, 2025, stainless steel, FRP, and other materials
Rendered in the artist’s “Cosmo Red,” this “SHIP’S CAT” was made for a project imagining the return to space of the “space cat,” the figure in Yanobe’s ongoing story that sowed the seeds of life on Earth and watched over the birth of humankind. In 2025, it appeared at “BIG CAT BANG: THE FINAL” at Ginza Six in Tokyo as a monument celebrating that departure for space. Its backward glance and blue eyes suggest a figure looking back on the Earth with affection.
“SHIP’S CAT (Little Cosmo Red)”, 2026, stainless steel, FRP, and other materials
In 2026, two “space cats” reached the stratosphere, 20,000 meters above the Earth, at the threshold of space. “SHIP’S CAT (Little Cosmo Red)” was created to commemorate the successful launch of that return to space. “SHIP’S CAT” is a traveling guardian cat that brings good fortune. This is the first time the pair have been shown together as “parent and child.”
Osaka Art & Design 2026
Osaka Art & Design is a citywide event where you can stroll through the streets of Osaka and encounter art and design unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Dates: May 27 (Wed) – June 23 (Tue)
Umeda / Dojima / Nakanoshima / Kyomachibori / Honmachi / Shinsaibashi / Namba / Abeno / and other locations across Osaka City
*Free admission (some museums, exhibitions, and other venues may charge a fee.)