Last updated: 26 October 2026
Chiharu Shiota is the Osaka-born, Berlin-based artist who fills rooms with thousands of strands of red and black thread. Here you will find the Chiharu Shiota prints and editions you can buy, where her work is on show now, recent auction results, and our 5/5 review of her 2026 Hayward Gallery show.
Our take on Chiharu Shiota
Shiota knots thread through rooms, around beds, dresses, keys and boats, until the objects hang inside a web of red or black wool. She represented Japan at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015 with The Key in the Hand, and her touring show The Soul Trembles has now passed 2 million visitors, according to the Mori Art Museum.
I gave her Hayward Gallery show, Threads of Life, 5/5. The red room ran “thousands of yards of bright red woollen thread” from floor to ceiling, and During Sleep was “physically overwhelming, conceptually rich, and deeply, quietly affecting”. Shiota explains the thread this way: “Through my work, I try to make sense of life and its uncertainties.”
For most people, Chiharu Shiota prints are the realistic way to own her work. The Connected to the Universe, Red Lines woodcut costs £3,000 at the Southbank Centre shop, from an edition of 120, and buyers are limited to one each.
Chiharu Shiota: the essentials
- Born in Osaka in 1972 and based in Berlin, according to her own website. Her gallery Templon dates the move to Berlin to 1997.
- Studied at Kyoto Seika University (1992 to 1996), then at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Braunschweig (1997 to 1999).
- Represented Japan at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015 with The Key in the Hand.
- The Soul Trembles opened at the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, in 2019 and has toured ever since, including the Grand Palais in Paris in 2024.
- Represented by Templon (Paris, Brussels and New York), Anna Schwartz Gallery in Melbourne and NF/Nieves Fernández in Madrid.
Chiharu Shiota exhibitions: now on and recent
- Now on: Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 26 September 2026 to 14 February 2027.
- Now on: Kaihō: Japanese Women Artists after 1945, a group show at Mudam Luxembourg, until 14 February 2027. The nearest place to see her work from the UK this winter.
- Coming up: the 61st Belgrade Biennale, An Accident of the Universe, 30 October to 5 December 2026, listed on her news page.
- Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life, Hayward Gallery, London, 17 February to 3 May 2026, shown alongside Yin Xiuzhen. Read our Hayward Gallery review.
Recent Chiharu Shiota auction results
Market signals
Averages over the last 36 months, in US dollars
Figures from the Artsy price database. Last checked: 26 October 2026.
Her works on paper and small sculptures sell from a few thousand dollars, and larger thread pieces for much more. Two recent lots show the range:
- State of Being (Map), 2020, metal frame, maps and white thread, 71 x 35 x 35.4cm (27 7/8 x 13 3/4 x 13 7/8in). Sold for HK$541,800 against an estimate of HK$380,000 to HK$580,000 at Phillips Hong Kong, June 2026.
- Connected to the Universe, 2020. Sold for HK$64,000 against an estimate of HK$42,000 to HK$60,000 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Modern & Contemporary Discoveries, 10 June 2026. This is a 2020 work, not the 2023 woodcut sold by the Southbank Centre.
Prices include buyer’s premium. Last checked: 26 October 2026.
Where to buy Chiharu Shiota prints
- Connected to the Universe, Red Lines, £3,000: a 2023 woodcut made with the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints, 41 x 27cm (16 1/8 x 10 5/8in), edition of 120 with a certificate, from the Southbank Centre shop. One per customer, and delivery can take up to 10 weeks. Our Connected to the Universe page has the full details.
- The same woodcut, €3,099: also sold by the Kunsthalle Praha shop. It does not state UK shipping, so ask before you order.
Our reviews featuring Chiharu Shiota
- Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen at the Hayward Gallery review (Cool Factor 5/5). During Sleep is the piece I expect to stay with me.
Chiharu Shiota prints and editions on CoolCuration
Chiharu Shiota FAQs
How much do Chiharu Shiota prints cost?
The Connected to the Universe, Red Lines woodcut is £3,000 new. At auction, her works averaged about US$32,000 over the last 36 months on Artsy’s figures, with large thread pieces selling for far more.
Where can I see Chiharu Shiota’s work now?
The Soul Trembles is at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts until 14 February 2027, and Mudam Luxembourg has her work in a group show until the same date. Her Hayward Gallery show in London closed on 3 May 2026.
Why does Chiharu Shiota use red thread?
She uses it to show the connections between people. In her Hayward statement she describes each thread as “a trace of our shared existence”.
Which galleries represent Chiharu Shiota?
Templon in Paris, Brussels and New York, Anna Schwartz Gallery in Melbourne and NF/Nieves Fernández in Madrid.
More from CoolCuration
- Anish Kapoor at the Hayward Gallery: the summer show that followed hers.
- Veronica Ryan at the Whitechapel Gallery: another artist who turns everyday materials into something tender.
- Great Women Artists: a fat reference book for anyone building a shelf of artists to know.
- Gifts for artists: our edit of presents for people who make things.
Think we’re missing something, got something wrong, or want to be featured? Contact us.
Main image: Chiharu Shiota, 2024. Photo: Sunhi Mang, via Galerie Templon. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 26 October 2026.
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