Kento Senga of Kis-My-Ft2 is ready to take on the unknown as he prepares to bring FiNGAiSM to London this coming October. His artwork will be displayed among that of many other talented artists in this year’s Focus Art Fair at Saatchi Gallery in London from October 16 to 19. This limited-time exhibition will be his fourth time bringing his work outside of Japan, but his first time to transcend the borders of Asia.
Written by the lovely Mariko ♥ for Dumpling Box.
Anyone who is familiar with Senga probably knows him as the beauty guru, the dancer, and the baby of the group, but what casual fans might not know is just how multi-talented he is. Besides writing and composing his own songs that can be found posted exclusively in his FC Web blog, Sengaism, one of his current passions is his art. From tour logos to the set of Kis-My-Ft2’s HOME concert in 2020, there have been many opportunities to get a glimpse of his creative works throughout the years—you just had to know where to look.
From a young age, Senga took an interest in drawing. Growing up in a printing shop run by his grandparents, there was no shortage of paper. He’s always referred to himself as a bit of a grandma’s boy, and admired what a kind-hearted and selfless person she was. Wanting to do something to make his grandmother smile for her birthday, he drew a portrait of her. After seeing how she lit up at the simple picture, he was inspired to keep drawing. From that day on, he began drawing her picture every day, which she proudly displayed on her bedroom walls.
Years later, Alzheimer’s began to steal his grandmother’s memories of her loved ones, and although Senga was confident that she would never forget him, the day came when she could no longer recognize his face. He tried everything to jog her memory—telling her stories, showing her pictures and Kis-My-Ft2 concert merch—until one day, he decided to show her one of those portraits he had drawn all those years ago. That was the last time that he heard his grandmother whisper his name, “Kento?” It was after that moment that he decided that he wanted to create art that would reach many people and remain in their hearts forever.
Senga made his official debut into the art world in 2023 with his first solo exhibition, FiNGAiSM in Omotesando. It featured a wide range of works from figures to canvas art, to digital art, and even custom hand-made sneakers. The star of his FiNGAiSM art project is his original series of characters, FiNGA. With his new “Essence of Love” exhibition, Milo, Ryuryu, Gunde, and Cozy are now joined by the newest addition to the character lineup, Aimee.
Each character in this series has a face easily recognizable by anyone, as the shapes of them can be recreated using your own hands. When choreographing dances for Kis-My-Ft2, Senga often places focus on the movement of their hands. In a concert, he believes that gestures can be utilized as a powerful communication tool when words cannot be verbally exchanged, and wanted to bring that concept back to his art.
As the group prepared for their 2025 concert tour, MAGFACT, Senga had also been working behind the scenes on his own art projects. The other members often comment on how Senga is always drawing on his iPad in his downtime. Additionally, Senga never slowed down his work as an idol, also starting his beauty YouTube channel earlier this year, as well as playing significant roles in two dramas back-to-back (彼女がそれも愛と呼ぶなら and レプリカ) for the first time ever, while still juggling all of his group activities.
Senga once mentioned how being classified as an “idol” often subjects them to certain stigmas, and that as an idol who also does art, there are sure to be many who believe that he’s riding on his fame and not taking idol work or art seriously. His hope is to break that expectation and prove to people that devoting himself to his art doesn’t mean that he has to give up on being an idol, and vice versa.
When taking his work outside of Japan, he won’t have his fame as an idol to “fall back on,” and can only rely on his own artistic senses and hard work. His hope for the future is that he will inspire others from his agency to also pursue their artistic passion and pave the way for the next generation.
Despite the exhibition in London being his third time to display Essence of Love, do not be surprised to find brand new pieces on display that have yet to be revealed in Japan. The official FiNGAiSM Instagram account has already given us a little glimpse of the brand new large-scale figure of Milo and Aimee, and I already know that I need to see it with my own two eyes! The new figure even has Milo and Aimee sporting the new FiNGAiSM logo shirts that you may find Senga and his staff wearing.
Earlier this year, during FiNGAiSM in Shibuya, Senga also released his very first artbook. Flipping through the pages, you can find almost all of the works he’s had on display throughout his different exhibitions up until the artbook’s release, as well as some pieces that have yet to be put on display anywhere. Perhaps the most surprising of it all is that there is also an opportunity to view a part of his latest animation work depicting the love story between Milo and Aimee that “Essence of Love” is centered around via a handy QR code!
The first time his animation work was shown in one of his exhibitions was in Taipei in December of 2023, and it is easily noticeable to even the untrained eye just how much his skills have advanced in such a short amount of time. Another pleasant surprise is that this artbook is full of details about Senga’s journey with art, the background behind FiNGAiSM, and much more thanks to the in-depth interviews included within its pages. Not to mention, every interview is fully translated into English! Although the book is currently sold out on the official online shop, I encourage anyone who is even just a little curious about his work to grab a copy for yourself if it ever comes back in stock!
As Senga’s art activities continue on, it’s very clear to see just how passionate he is about his art and how much attention he puts into every detail. It’s really hard not to cheer him on as he chases his dream to make the FiNGA characters known and loved by people from all over the world!
If you happen to be in London this October, please consider stopping in and showing your support! And if you do, make sure to use #FiNGAiSMinLONDON when posting on social media to share your thoughts and photos!
Although I personally will be unable to attend the London exhibition this time around, I would love to see what all of you think! And who knows? Your voices might even reach Senga himself! Use #FiNGAiSMAroundtheWorld to let us know where you would like to see FiNGAiSM go next!
Exhibitions to Date:
FiNGAiSM in Omotesando (Tokyo, Japan) — May 19, 2023 – June 4, 2023
FiNGAiSM in Taipei (Taipei, Taiwan) — December 1, 2023 – December 10, 2023
FiNGAiSM in Harajuku (Tokyo, Japan) — July 27, 2024 – August 25, 2024
FiNGAiSM in Nagoya (Nagoya, Japan) — September 7, 2024 – October 13, 2024
JPS Gallery Group Exhibition (Incheon, Korea) — October 5, 2024 – October 23, 2024
FiNGAiSM in Shibuya – Essence of Love (Tokyo, Japan) — March 23, 2025 – April 12, 2025
COIN PARKING DELIVERY X FiNGAiSM (Tokyo, Japan) — July 19, 2025 – July 20, 2025
FiNGAiSM in Korea – Essence of Love (Seoul, Korea) — July 25, 2025 – August 24, 2025
FiNGAiSM in London – Essence of Love (London, England) — October 16, 2025 – October 19, 2025 | FOCUS Art Fair Website
