Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka (b.1988 in Toronto, Canada) is a Japanese-Canadian queer artist who lives with bipolar disorder, and these factors shape her artistic practice. She studied printmaking at OCAD University in Toronto. Hatanaka primarily works with paper, combining techniques that use printmaking, ink drawing, and natural dyeing with hand sewing, whose convergence references traditional paper techniques and materials. In 2011, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka studied traditional woodblock printmaking in China, where paper originated, and since then she has researched paper’s history, its cross-geographic influence, and current efforts to revive making.
Her patchwork paper textiles honour the concept of mottainai by repurposing offcuts from sewing and linking works. They reference ancient fish mythologies and sometimes incorporate paper rice bags. She reuses earlier block matrices and uses vintage washi paper from Kashiki Seishi, some of which is over 50 years old. They are starched with konnyaku to become flexible, durable textiles that layer history.
Solo & duo exhibitions include (Upcoming) Against the wind, with the wind, public art commission for Lassonde Art Trail, Toronto, CA (2026); (Upcoming) Collection commission for the Wellin Museum, Clinton, USA (2026); ついたよ: Becoming by Making, Kotaro Nukaga Gallery, Tokyo, JP (w. Kazuhito Kawai) (2026); Patience and Persistence, Prince Takamado Gallery at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, JP (w. Johnny Nghiem) (2025); Imagination, Collection commission for New York Presbyterian Hospital, NYC, USA (2025); Rumination, solo booth at Armoury Art Fair, w. Patel Brown Gallery, NYC, USA (2025); In case my mind [betrays] me, let me say one last thing., curated by Anne-Laure, Lemaitre, Trotter&Sholer, NYC, USA (2024); Final Gasp of the Nervous System, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, CA (2024); Ohayo Radio, Ino-cho Paper Museum, Kochi, JP (w. Johnny Nghiem) (2024); Unchanging and changing and changing, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Gallery, Toronto, CA (2023); Anonymous Art Project, Tokyo, JP (w. Devon Shinoyama) (2023); Washi 和紙: connecting cultures, countries, generations, Nikkei National Museum, Burnaby, CA (w. Naoko Matsubara) (2022); side by each 2.0, AXENE07, Gatineau, CA (2022); PA System, General Hardware, Toronto, CA (2019); Cultural Persistence, DDR Projects, Long Beach, USA (2012); Choose Your Own Adventure, Articulate Baboon, Cairo, EG (2010)
Group Exhibitions include (Upcoming) Mebuku. Where good things grow: Maebashi Biennale, Maebashi, JP (2026); In Minor Keys, 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia by Koyo Kouoh, Venice, IT (2026); As waters merge — swaying waves beckoning us closer, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, CA (2026); Hundred Quilts No Knots Without Weight, River Art Gallery, Taipei, TW (2026); Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it calling / Ang kinabukasan ay nakalaan sa mga nakaririnig, 125 Projects, Manila, PH (2026); Sanctuary, Fridman Gallery, New York City, USA (2026); Boundary Layers, Whitespace Gallery, Atlanta, USA (2026); Orbital, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, DE (2026); Journey of the Mind, w. Without SHAPE Without FORM, touring exhibition across Calgary Contemporary, Campbell House Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery (CA) and San Francisco, USA (2026); Tokyo Gendai Fair, w. Kotaro Nukaga Gallery, Tokyo, JP (2025); Gestures of Abundance, Walk & Talk Bienal de Artes, Azores, PT (2025); Menagerie, The Wellin Museum, Clinton, NY, USA (2024); MELTWATER, new commission and exhibition, curated by Claire Shea, Fogo Island Arts, CA (2023); Art Toronto, w. Trotter&Sholer (NYC) and Patel Brown Gallery (Toronto), Toronto, CA (2023); Surface Temperature, curated by Cecilia González Godino, Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, CA (2023); Art Toronto, w. Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, CA (2022); Sonic Acts Digital Arts Festival, collaborative video installation, Amsterdam, NL (2022); A Land of All Possibilities, curated by Anne-Laure Lemaitre, Trotter&Sholer, NYC, USA (2022); Expo Chicago, w. Patel Brown Gallery, Chicago, USA (2022); GTA21 (w. Ashoona Ashoona), Commission for Museum of Contemporary Art Triennial, Toronto, CA (2021); NADA House, exhibiting w. Patel Brown Gallery, Governors Island, USA (2021); Art Toronto, limited edition commission, w. Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto, CA (2020); Arctic: Culture and Climate, The British Museum, London, GB (EOI + collaborators) (2020); Atigiit, Silapaat, Kenojuak Cultural Centre, Kinngait, CA (EOI + collaborators); Sinaaqpagiaqtuut/The Long-Cut, Toronto Biennial of Art, installation in conjunction with public performance, Toronto, CA (PA System + EOI + collaborators) (2019); Guanlan International Printmaking Biennale Exhibition, Shenzhen, CN (2013); Mutual Friends, Parenthesis, Halifax, CA (2013); This We Know, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, CA (2012)
Highlights and Collections
Hatanaka’s artworks can be find in numerous collections including; National Gallery Singapore, SG; The British Museum, London, GB; Shiga Prefecture Museum, Ōtsu, JP; Material Art and Design Museum, New York, USA; Dallas Art Museum, Dallas, USA; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, CA; The Wellin Museum, Clinton, USA; McMicheal Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, CA; Scotiabank Collection; TD Bank Collection; RBC Bank Collection; Art Bank at Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa, CA; Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby, CA; Guanlan Printmaking Base, Shenzhen, CN; Canada Goose Collections: Germany, China, Canada, Scotland and other private collections. Additionally, she has been widely recognised for her work, receiving awards including the Sobey Art Award from the National Gallery of Canada in 2026, as well as numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts over the years. She has also undergone several residencies, including a four-week one with Arts Maebashi in 2026, and a twelve week one with Black Rock, Dakar in 2025.