Exhibited Works
TATSUO MIYAJIMA
Tatsuo Miyajima
Born in Tokyo in 1957.
Miyajima's work is based on the concepts of "it keeps changing," "it connects with everything," and "it continues forever." Since the mid-1980s, he has been creating installations and sculptures using digital counters that change numbers from 1 to 9 using LEDs. The LEDs turn off at "0" and start counting again after a short period of darkness. These numbers represent the journey from life to death, symbolizing the Buddhist idea of reincarnation and rebirth. He attracted international attention with his work at the 1988 Venice International Biennale, and since then he has held numerous exhibitions both in Japan and abroad, presenting his work in over 250 locations in 30 countries.
His major awards include First Place at the University of Geneva Competition (1997), the 5th Japan Contemporary Art Promotion Award (1998), an honorary doctorate from the University of the Arts London (1998), and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Arts Encouragement Award (2020).
HIROSHI SUGIMOTO
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Born in Tokyo in 1948.
Sugimoto's fields of work are diverse, including photography, sculpture, installation, theater, architecture, landscaping, writing, and cooking. His work explores the themes of history and the transience of existence. His intention is to bridge ideas between the East and the West with insights from empiricism (the idea that all human knowledge comes from experience) and metaphysics (the science that seeks to understand the formless). His works explore themes such as the nature of time, human perception, and the origins of consciousness.
In 2008, he founded the architectural design firm "New Material Research Institute," and in 2009, he founded the "Odawara Art Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation."
Notable awards he has received include the Mainichi Art Award (1988), the Hasselblad International Photography Award (2001), the Praemium Imperiale in Painting category (2009), the Autumn Medal with Purple Ribbon (2010), an Officier of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2013), and the Person of Cultural Merit (2017).
TAKASHI MURAKAMI
Takashi Murakami
Born in Tokyo in 1962.
Murakami advocated the "Superflat" theory, which reimagines the origins of traditional Japanese paintings such as ukiyo-e and contemporary art through the visual theory of anime and manga. He has created many characters that reflect otaku culture, such as Miss Ko² and DOB-kun, and has produced ultra-two-dimensional paintings that are the polar opposite of the lowbrow sculptures and perspective views seen in Western paintings. He has also continued to attract audiences around the world that transcend the boundaries of contemporary art through his recent collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Kanye West, and Drake, as well as his work focusing on street fashion and contemporary ceramics.
Murakami's own exhibition "Little Boy" (New York/2005) won the Best Curation Award from the National Book Critics Circle, and his first retrospective "©MURAKAMI" (2007-2009) toured four cities in Europe and the US. Since then, he has held solo exhibitions not only in Japan but also around the world, including in France, Qatar, Moscow, and Hong Kong.
YOSHITOMO NARA
Yoshitomo Nara
Born in Aomori Prefecture in 1959.
He lived and worked in Germany from 1988. His 12 years of life there before returning to Japan clarified Nara's thoughts and themes. Based on the premise of individual and imaginative freedom, his works express a wide range of emotions, from children's feelings of resistance and rebellion to silence and serenity. The children Nara draws have slightly grumpy expressions because he puts his honest emotions into his works, just like a child who can honestly express not only joy and happiness, but also sadness and anger. Nara is inspired by a variety of things, including popular music, childhood memories, and recent events, and continues to create works that mainly reinterpret emotions, loneliness, and rebelliousness, pouring his own sensibilities into them from various angles. In 2017, the contemporary art space "N's YARD" (Tochigi Prefecture) opened.
Notable awards he has received include the New York International Center Award (2010) and the 63rd Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize (2013).
KOHEI NAWA
Kohei Nawa
Born in Osaka in 1975. Founder of Sandwich Inc. Professor at Kyoto University of the Arts. Based in Kyoto.
Focusing on the "skin" of sculpture as an interface that connects to the senses, in 2002 he released "PixCell," based on the concept of cells. Since then, Nawa has continued to flexibly interpret the definition of sculpture, creating sensory experiences that open up the physical properties of materials to the viewer. In recent years, he has also worked on architectural projects, such as the art pavilion "Kourin."
Major exhibitions include a special exhibition of the sculpture "Throne" (Louvre Museum, France, 2018), the solo exhibition "TORNSCAPE" (SCAI the Bathhouse, Tokyo, 2021), the solo exhibition "PixCell Moment" (Pace Gallery Palo Alto, USA, 2022), as well as collaborative performance works with Belgian choreographer/dancer Damien Jalet, "VESSEL" (2016~), "Mist" (2022), and "Planet [wanderer]" (2021~).
MARIKO MORI
Mariko Mori
Born in Tokyo in 1967.
Since the mid-1990s, he has been attracting international attention and has participated in international exhibitions around the world, as well as holding numerous solo exhibitions both in Japan and abroad. His major exhibitions include "Pureland" (Tokyo/2002), "Wave UFO" (New York, USA/2003), "Oneness" (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/2011), and "Rebirth" (London, UK/2012). Among them, the "Oneness" exhibition recorded 500,000 visitors, making it the most visited exhibition in the world that year. In recent years, he has also been involved in outdoor installation projects, including "Sun Pillar" (Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture/2010) and "Ring: One with Nature" (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/2016), which was installed as part of the official cultural program of the Rio Olympics. Notable awards he has received include the Excellence Award at the 47th Venice Biennale (1997), the 8th Japan Contemporary Arts Encouragement Award (2001), and an Honorary Fellowship from the University of the Arts London (2014).
YAYOI KUSAMA
Yayoi Kusama
Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1929.
Having suffered from visual and auditory hallucinations since childhood, Kusama maintained her mental balance by immersing herself in creating artworks. In 1957, she moved to the United States alone and based her activities in New York, where she presented innovative installation works using net paintings, soft sculptures, mirrors and electric lights. She also developed a wide range of artistic expressions in Europe and the United States, including body painting, happenings, fashion shows and films. After returning to Japan in 1973, she moved her base of operations to Tokyo, where she wrote poetry and novels in addition to creating art. In 2017, the Yayoi Kusama Museum (Tokyo) opened.
He has been selected as the world's most popular artist (British magazine "The Art Newspaper" / 2014) and one of the 100 most influential people in the world (American magazine "TIME" / 2016). His major awards include the Asahi Prize (2001), the Person of Cultural Merit (2009), and the Order of Culture (2016).
