Born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1982, Nagai graduated from Aichi University of Arts in 2006 with a major in Oil Painting from the Department of Fine Arts. Perhaps because Nagai’s work originates from the games and doll collection in her childhood, her work evokes a gaze filled with affection and kindness as if touching something deeply cherished. Often described as theatrical, her paintings resemble a stage, where favorite motifs appear one after another. On the stage, there are first girls, animals (including plush toys), and plants, and then numerous decorative objects make them stand out and shine. Surrounded by soft, comfortable fabrics and sparkling objects, the main characters stand in their private happiness and satisfaction without being disturbed. The materials used in Nagai’s work vary according to the content of the painting. Decorative sections emphasize stronger materiality, incorporating elements such as glitter, gold, silver, and pearls to capture light. While her paintings might initially appear to be pretty and enough to simply collect and paint things that look adorable, Nagai’s paintings are equipped with a charm that goes beyond that. The slight poison or thorns that sometimes appear amidst the charm are addictive. For some reason, the girls most often depicted in Nagai’s paintings always have a cautious, almost expressionless look on their faces. One may feel a touch of loneliness and sadness in Nagai’s joyful-like worldview. It is not only because of the sorrow from the very dreamy and unrealistic psychological distance of the scenes depicted, but mostly by the archaic expressions of these girls. Nagai’s works are in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Sakuragaoka Museum in Toyokawa City, and other prominent collections in Japan and abroad. In recent years, she has had many opportunities to exhibit her work outside of Japan. Notable exhibitions include “VOCA 2010” (Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo) in 2010, “Future Pass - From Asia to the World” which was held as an accompanying exhibition to the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011, “Under Current” at the Powerlong Museum in Shanghai in 2022, etc.