Though on the surface it's easy to think everyone else has got it sorted out, things are not always what they seem. From time to time we all feel like a blip in the universe, trapped by things beyond our control -- whether unbending social powers, finicky laws, monetary limitations or annoying office politics, the list is endless. In any major city, it is not hard to feel alienated among the masses, who at times appear to be more of everything we're not.

If you've ever had such a feeling, Chris Duncan's exhibition, "Playing Fields," may provide some relief. Showing till Nov. 19 at Nakaochiai Gallery in a tucked-away corner of suburban west Tokyo, the artist's works, which include meticulous, dotted paintings and a celestial string installation that fills an entire room, are an abstract and colorful response to the structures of modern society.

For the San Francisco-based artist, our present world is like a metaphoric playing field where we are all in constant competition. Some hold power, others not, but either way all people "regardless of class, race or gender, are just in the same position."