Keita Morimoto's Cinematic Vignettes Take Shape in 'To Nowhere and Back'
On view at Almine Rech Tribeca until April 26.














Japanese artist Keita Morimoto is taking center stage at Almine Rech’s Tribeca outpost in his latest solo exhibition, now on view through April 26. Known for his dreamlike vending machine paintings, Morimoto transforms the everyday into a subtle neon-noir tableaux, poised between reality and fantasy. Between quiet meditations and tender memories, the artist captures the ephemeral allure of urban life, finding fleeting beauty where you least expect it.
At the heart of To Nowhere and Back is an exploration of the ordinary. A phone booth’s fluorescent hum, the warm red glow of car headlights or the final lights of a shop ready to close for the night – the exhibition is threaded by an interplay of light and shadow. Each frame a portal, Morimoto’s use of liminal space evokes a nostalgia for a simple time, navigating the thresholds between the tangible and a ghostly realm of recollection.
“I want the experience to be cinematic,” the artist explained. “The anonymous, in-between spaces I paint echo the feeling of never quite belonging. I’m drawn to how emotions can transform a familiar setting into something else entirely — something that speaks to the deeper truths of the human experience.”
Almine Rech Tribeca
361 Broadway,
New York, NY 10013