This weekend Haven Gallery presents new exhibitions by Tomoko Miyanagi, Kim Slate, Laverinne, HIRO and Himena Kokufuta. This fresh spring lineup is full of imagination and energy as each artist opens a different window of creativity for us to peer into. From layered storytelling and distinct visual worlds, these new collections give us a chance to slow down and absorb every thoughtful detail. Together they feel like stepping into a shifting space where nature and myth become a shared dreamscape… and everything is possible.
Tomoko Miyanagi | Kim Slate | Laverinne | HIRO | Himena Kokufuta
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 3-5pm
Exhibition Dates: April 18th โ May 17th, 2026
Haven Gallery
50 Main St., Northport, NY 11768 | ph. (631) 757-0500
To inquire, please contact Erica via email info@havengallery.com
About the Gallery
Haven Gallery is run by Erica Berkowitz and Joseph Weinreb. The gallery first opened in 2015 in the Carriage House of historic Northport, NY. Within two years, the gallery doubled in size and expanded into the entire Carriage House building. Through their successful in-house exhibitions and presentations at art fairs both domestic and international, Haven opened a secondary location at 90 Main St., in 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic. It was at that point, that Erica and Joseph knew it was time to find a permanent location for their artists. In January of 2022, they bought the building at 50 Main st., and opened its doors as Haven Galleryโs perennial home.
Haven Galleryโs focus is on exhibiting emotionally, intellectually and imaginatively driven, representational artwork that connects the audience and artist with universal axioms and passions. We work with both emerging and established artists who transcend their medium and subjects by exploring the world around them as well as the one within themselves.
Tomoko Miyanagi, The Goddess and the Spirits
Haven Gallery is honored to present Japan based artist, Tomoko Miyanagi, for her debut solo show at the gallery entitled โThe Goddess and the Spiritsโ. โThe Goddess and the Spiritsโ hosts a collection of eight beautifully painted oil works portraying mythological deities and beings in traditional portraits. Culturally diverse figures from antiquity are painted in the artists quintessential aesthetic of stylized faces, adorned with relevant accoutrements, evolving the works into narrative windows of history. An eye for composition and design, Miyanagi paints the magic of her sitters gracefully and remarkably, imprinting her own interpretation of these tales onto the viewers own perceptions.
Artist Statement
I paint goddesses and spirits from myths and legends through anthropomorphism. These beings, carried through stories across time, continue to live within us as something universal. Through the classical medium of oil painting, I give form to this unseen presence. The figures I depict are both mysterious and approachable, reflecting something of ourselves. Fantasy is not a distant world, but another reality opened within. Through my work, I hope to gently bring forth the quiet narratives that reside in each viewer.
About Tomoko Miyanagi
Born in 1962 in Hyogo, Japan. Based in Kobe. Completed a Masterโs degree in Painting at the Graduate School of Tama Art University. I create dreamlike figurative paintings inspired by myths, legends, and stories. Through personification, I depict these beings as goddesses and spirits. Through this approach, I express a sense of timelessness that transcends cultures and eras. For more than three decades, I have exhibited my work in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe. My works are held in corporate and private collections in Japan. Since 2024, I have begun presenting my work internationally. In 2026, I present my first solo exhibition in New York.
Kim Slate,ย Symbiosis
Haven Gallery is honored to present Oregon based artist, Kim Slate, for her second solo show at the gallery entitled Symbiosis. Symbiosis features a collection of new mischievous sculptures depicting the artists stylized animals known for their quintessential wide and snarky grins. Both enchanting and playful, each animal is sculpted amidst various forms of plant life, representing the close relationship the animals have with their environments. Special attention is given the flora and fauna Slate sculpts to accompany her sitters as a reminder of our own relationships and connection to the natural world.
About Kim Slate
Even from a young age growing up in Eastern Washington, Kim Slate had a fascination with the creation of images and the power they had to capture the imagination and elicit emotion. The encouragement of her interests and talents led her to study animation where the power of images are amplified by story. After graduation, she applied her training to several feature films, most recently the award winning film Guillermo Del Toroโs Pinocchio.
In her sculptures and paintings she has honed a unique perspective, depicting the mysterious and sometimes mischievous adventures of ordinary and exotic creatures. Each piece suggests a narrative, her charming characters caught in some act of scheming, play, or discovery. Kim resides in Portland Oregon where she can be found running its miles of forest trails or traveling with her husband and five year old son.
Laverinne,ย Night of Fantasy
Haven Gallery is honored to present Indonesia based artist, Laverinne, for her sixth solo show at the gallery entitled โNight of Fantasyโ. โNight of Fantasyโ hosts a collection of eight highly detailed watercolor paintings depicting a world of dreams where the artists quintessentially stylized female sitters are found amongst animal familiars and ethereal landscapes.
About Laverinne
Laverinneโs application of watercolor is delicate, almost gossamer, with bursts of contrast and color saturation, resulting in a gyration of reverie. Her jewel tone palette evokes gemstones, reminding one of a brooch or heirloom, dear to ones heart. Female figures dance with color and gradient, connecting to a world of symbiosis and flourishment. Highly ornate and detailed framework adorn and enrich the intimacy of each composition, encapsulating these precious moments as the unique treasures that they are.
Artist Statement
As for the concept of the show โNight of fantasyโ, It is a night when your imagination turns to reality. Itโs when the owl come to you and teach you all of their knowledge of this life. And when the peacock sing with you with their hidden voice. And when the cloud and the sky show you the secret thatโs hiding behind them. And when the colours give you a little touch of their petal and leaves.
HIRO, In Flow
Haven Gallery is honored to present Japan based artist, HIRO, for her debut solo show at the gallery entitled โIn Flowโ.ย โIn Flowโ hosts a collection of six elegantly executed works of the Nihonga style, with a focus on allegorical portraits of idyllic sitters using flowing lines, strokes and color. The natural flow of the elements serves as a navigation of fluid hair, veils and flowers, as Hiroโs females become one with these foundations of nature.
The connection to the natural world, both visually and internally, dance off the paper, and glimmer with the artists graceful use of mineral pigments, creating further movement and life. Each portrait breathes through Hiroโs opulent technique, reconnecting the viewer with the untamable elements and fluidity of nature.
About HIRO
HIRO studied traditional Nihonga (Japanese painting) techniques at university, and exhibited her work at Nitten (The Japan Fine Arts Exhibition), one of the most prestigious art exhibitions in Japan, during her studies. In Nihonga, the process begins with a series of preparatory drawingsฬถ starting from initial sketches, followed by increasingly refined studiesฬถ before the final painting is executed.
Because the materials and techniques do not easily allow for revision, the image is carefully developed and reworked through these stages in advance. This process reflects a core aspect of Nihonga: an approach in which the artist refines an inner vision through repetition, gradually moving toward a final point of resolution. While grounded in this traditional process, HIRO incorporates digital tools as a means of responding to her constantly evolving ideas and imagery.
โI have never been able to complete a work exactly as planned. The image I begin with quickly feels outdated once I start painting, creating a strong impulse to transform forms, colors, and motifs as I work.โ
For HIRO, digital tools provide a flexible way to respond directly to her evolving thoughts in real time. The final works are all unique, hand-painted Nihonga pieces created by HIRO herself.
Himena Kokufuta, Mini Collection
Haven Gallery is honored to present Japan based artist, Himena Kokufuta, for her mini collection at the gallery featuring three stunningly rendered oil paintings of female sitters with dragon spirits embedded in nature. Kokufuta paints her human sitters at moments of deep connection with their elemental dragons.
In this mini collection, the elemental dragons are born of trees and illuminate the landscape with their beautifully enchanting colors. A bond of soul and heart unifies the subjects of each painting, returning and reminding humanity of its necessary union and harmony with the natural world.
About Himena Kokufuta
Born in 1994 in Ibaraki Prefecture. Graduated from the Graduate School of Tohoku University of Art and Design in 2019.
Artist Statement
My work expresses the vitality of nature through the form of a dragon, using motifs such as coral and giant trees. I depict a world themed around โthe connection between humans and nature,โ which has been woven over many years. The subjects of my work are the dragon god legends passed down in Japan. In Japan, dragons are revered as water gods, and legends are associated with various places such as rivers, lakes, and waterfalls in each region.
Since ancient times, Japan has experienced frequent water-related disasters, such as water shortages and river floods, leading people to pray to the dragon gods for help. Many stories are written about dragons and people helping each other. Even today, water-related disasters occur all over the world due to climate change, and I feel that we are still plagued by natural disasters today and in the past.
All living things cannot survive without water, but I feel that in todayโs scientifically advanced world, people are no longer aware of the fact that they are living with nature in their hurried daily lives.
