September 2026—Pearl Lam Projects is pleased to announce its appointment as the exclusive global representative gallery of Arashi Tanaka, marking a significant new chapter in the gallery’s ongoing commitment to supporting emerging international artists and expanding their presence on the global stage.
Pearl Lam first presented Tanaka’s work during his participation in the artist residency and exhibition programme at 70 Square Metres in Shanghai, where he was selected as the fourth artist-in-residence. His residency culminated in the acclaimed solo exhibition Great Beauty Speaks Not (2025), introducing audiences to a distinctive artistic language that transforms photography through the natural process of crystallisation. Following this successful collaboration, Pearl Lam Projects is delighted to formalise its relationship with the artist through exclusive global representation. The gallery will work closely with Tanaka to develop his international exhibition programme, foster institutional partnerships, and expand his global collector base.
Born in 2000 in Fukuoka, Japan, Tanaka belongs to a new generation of artists whose practices challenge conventional boundaries between art, science, and the natural world. Working across photography, sculpture, and crystallisation, he creates works that make visible the unseen forces that shape our existence. Guided by sound, time, memory, and environmental conditions, his intricate crystalline surfaces emerge through natural chemical processes, transforming photographic images into poetic records of invisible phenomena.
Rooted in a lifelong relationship with nature, Tanaka’s practice investigates the delicate balance between permanence and impermanence. Whether responding to the rhythm of a heartbeat, the movement of seawater, or the resonance of sound, his works preserve fleeting moments through crystallisation, allowing nature itself to become an active collaborator in the creative process. Blending scientific precision with philosophical enquiry, his works invite viewers to contemplate humanity’s relationship with the natural world and the quiet beauty found within invisible systems.
Pearl Lam, Founder of Pearl Lam Projects, says, “Arashi Tanaka is one of the most exciting young artists working today. His practice is both intellectually rigorous and deeply poetic, transforming natural processes into works of extraordinary beauty and emotional resonance. What impressed me from the beginning was his ability to bridge disciplines, bringing together photography, sculpture, chemistry, and philosophy into a visual language that feels entirely his own. We are delighted to welcome Tanaka to Pearl Lam Projects and look forward to supporting the next stage of his career through ambitious exhibitions, institutional collaborations, and international projects.”
Through this exclusive global representation, Pearl Lam Projects will work closely with Arashi Tanaka to further his position as one of the most compelling emerging voices in contemporary art.
About Arashi Tanaka
Born in 2000 in Fukuoka, Japan, Arashi Tanaka lives and works in Tokyo. He graduated from Tama Art University’s Department of Architecture and Environmental Design in 2022, and in 2024 he completed a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art at the University of the Arts London, awarded with Distinction.
Tanaka works primarily through crystallisation: a mineral-based solution that forms, over several days, into solid crystals across the surface of his own photographs of people and places. As each piece grows, he plays a sound related to the image, such as the sound of the sea or the subject’s heartbeat, through a speaker beside it; the vibration shapes the crystal’s irregular, unrepeatable growth. In his Across the Portrait series and Crystalscape series, the crystal becomes a vessel for what time would otherwise erase: memory, lifespan, and the character of a place. His work draws on the inherent phenomena of the natural world, exploring its ephemeral, unrepeatable beauty. This sensibility stems from a lifelong relationship with the sea, beginning with surfing at the age of three, which shaped his sense of distance and his appreciation for natural beauty.
In 2024, Tanaka received the British Institution Fund Award at the Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition, the world’s oldest open-submission exhibition, for his Portrait series.
