Mitobe was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Tokyo in 1988. She graduated from Nagoya Zokei University in 2011 and is currently enrolled in Tokyo University of the Arts for a master’s degree in Oil Painting of Department of Painting since 2021. Mitobe mainly focuses on portraits in her works. However, deviating from common perception of painting, the artist creates with an unusual thickness of paint. Although Mitobe’s solo exhibition at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery is titled “I am not an Object”, such “Object” does not necessarily mean only something that is not a person (in terms of existence or human rights), but may also be an answer to what the artist has been asked of many times in the past - “Is this a painting or a sculpture?” Conversely, Mitobe strongly stated that “not an Object” is a painting. If we turn our eyes to the context of the painting, whether using public figures as motifs, delving into social issues, or the relationship with music or instruments, such violent use of thick and heavy paint becomes inevitable. The thickness and weight are created by grabbing the paint with her hands and applying directly onto the canvas. The respect, criticism, and love towards the subject being depicted, or the message that is being conveyed to viewers, have become so intense that they can no longer be contained on a flat surface, and perhaps even the use of a brush is too troublesome. Mitobe participated in “project N 85 MITOBE Nanae｜I am not an Object” (Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery in 2022), “VOCA Exhibition 2021” (The Ueno Royal Museum), “APMoA, ARCH vol.18 DEPTH ‒ Dynamite Pigment -” (2016 Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art) etc. She also has appeared on PR campaigns for CASIO “G-SHOCK 2100 Series” and so on, actively expanding her fields of expertise.