Kenjiro Okazaki

The first large-scale exhibition in Tokyo devoted to Kenjiro Okazaki (1955-), one of Japan’s foremost artists who is also celebrated for his diverse artistic practice encompassing architecture, environmental and cultural-area planning, children’s books, and robotics design, not to mention his active work as a critic of culture in general. In showcasing Okazaki—an artist whose international reputation has grown in recent years—this exhibition will focus on new works created after a pivotal shift in 2021, while also featuring major works from throughout his career. Through them, we hope to unfold the possibilities and power of art creation as a method of perceiving the world.

Profile

Kenjiro Okazaki
Kenjiro Okazaki (b. 1955) is a Japanese plastic artist whose works span over several genres, including painting, sculpture, as well as landscape and architecture. Many of his works have been featured in public collections throughout Japan and in various exhibitions around the world. In 2002, Okazaki was selected as the director of the Japanese pavilion of the International Architecture Exhibition in Venice Biennale. His works include a collaborative performance 'I Love my Robot' with the choreographer Trisha Brown, premiered in early 2007. He received Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG) in 2014.
Major solo exhibitions include Kenjiro Okazaki - Retrospective Strata (Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, 2019-2020) and ART TODAY 2002 Kenjiro Okazaki (Sezon Museum of Modern Art). He also exhibited his major works at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in 2009 (MOT Collection “Special feature: Kenjiro Okazaki”).
He is also extremely active as a critic, and is the author of several books, including Jikonjigo: Hihyo no atosaki: Okazaki Kenjiro Hihyo Senshu vol. 2 [而今而後　批評のあとさき(岡﨑乾二郎批評選集 vol.2), Jikonjigo: Here After Critique: Collection of Critical Essays vol.2] (Akishobo, 2024), Atamano uewo nanikaga [頭のうえを何かが, One Passed Over Head] (Nanarokusha Publishing, 2023), Kaiganomoto: Topica Pictus [絵画の素 TOPICA PICTUS] (Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, 2022), Topica Pictus (urizen, 2020) and Renaissance: Keiken no Joken [ルネサンス 経験の条件, Renaissance: Condition of Experience] (Chikuma Shobo, 2001/Bungeishunju Gakugei Library, 2014). He received the Ministry of Education Award in Fine Arts for Chusho no chikara: kindaigeijutsu no kaiseki [抽象の力　近代芸術の解析, The Analysis of Modern Art: Abstract Art as Impact] (Akishobo, 2018) in 2019 and the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award for Kankaku no eden: Okazaki Kenjiro Hihyo Senshu vol. 1 [感覚のエデン(岡﨑乾二郎批評選集 vol.1), Sensorial Eden: Collection of Critical Essays vol.1] (Akishobo, 2021) in 2022.