Naoki Koide: Silent Guardians
Exhibition Dates. 30.01 - 03.04.2026
Silent Guardians
by Naoki Koide
@naoki_koide
at Lindseed Projects
Shanghai, China
LINSEED is pleased to present Silent Guardians, a solo exhibition by Japanese artist Naoki Koide, opening 30 January 2026. Moving between sculpture and painting, Koide’s practice quietly reflects on family, companionship, protection, and return. Inspired by the shifting experience of becoming a parent, the exhibition centres around the image of the komainu, traditional guardian figures from Japanese temples and shrines, reimagined with tenderness, humor, and emotional intimacy. Throughout the gallery, these playful yet contemplative forms appear almost casually, carrying traces of touch, care, and quiet devotion.
Developed alongside recent experiences in Jingdezhen, Koide’s paintings and sculptures unfold through restrained pastel tones, tactile surfaces, and softly humorous figures that linger between memory and the present moment. Together, the works suggest protection not as authority, but as something fragile, human, and deeply felt. Through gentle forms and subtle gestures, Silent Guardians offers a reflection on love, responsibility, and the quiet ways we continue to carry one another through time.
Naoki Koide was born in Aichi, Japan in 1968. He graduated from Tokyo Zokei University in 1992 and currently lives and works in Chiba. Working across sculpture, painting, photography, and installation, Koide creates biomorphic figures inspired by people and animals connected to his daily life. Blending playfulness with ritual, memory, and personal emotion, his works move between fairy tale and relic, exploring relationships, nostalgia, and the fragile boundary between life and death.
Photographed by Nani P - post via instagram @nani.visit
