78¾ (h) x 47¼ x ¾ in
49¼ x 37½ in
37½ x 11½ in / frame: 125 × 95 cm
49 1/5 × 37 2/5 in
37½ x 11½ in / frame: 125 × 95 cm
49 1/5 × 37 2/5 in
37½ x 11½ in / frame: 125 × 95 cm
49 1/5 × 37 2/5 in
Tatsuo Miyajima
Tatsuo Miyajima (*1957) is one of Japan‘s most important sculptors and installation artists. In his œuvre, the artist – who became known primarily for his works using digital light diodes (LED) – is concerned with concepts of time, its (non-) calculability and its cultural and existential dimension.
One important component of the works is counting and sequences of numbers. These numbers, appearing in continuous and recurrent - although not necessarily consecutive - cycles from 1 to 9, represent the journey of life until death, whose finality is symbolized by ‚0‘ or the zero point. Consequently, this never appears in the artist‘s work.
Rich in associations is the wall piece Counter Object - 000, a huge figure made of colored mirror glass. Periodically a different number is randomly installed by using a special dice. The mirror is highly symbolic. It makes us realize that in the appearance of reality, we only reflect ourselves. We see the laws of nature only through our current scientific models. Miyajima shows us the limitations of this system: there are only 9 digits to capture an infinite, intangible reality. What we see is only a small section of time.
Every number in the two paintings on kimono sode from 1884 represents a moment in the counting cycle from 9 to 1. The empty space in the potentially infinite sequence of numbers represents the figure zero, which does not appear in Miyajima’s work.
The three works attempt to grasp moments in cycles of innumerable counts. They are excerpts from a broader context, from innumerable moments in time and for Tatsuo Miyajima they visualize life.
Important works by the artist can be found in collections including the Tate Gallery London, the Bavarian State Collection of Painting Munich, La Caixa Barcelona, the Deste Foundation in Athens, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Leeum Seoul, Kunstmuseum Bern, and M+ in Hong Kong.
Recent solo exhibitions were held at:
2020 Chiba City Museum of Art, Japan
2019 Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara
EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai
2016 Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney
Please feel free to contact the gallery for any further information about the artist or images of the works.
Tatsuo Miyajima
Born 1957 in Tokyo. Lives and works in Ibaraki, Japan.
2012 - 2016 Kyoto University of Art & Design Vice President
2006 - 2016 Tohoku University of Art & Design Vice President
| 1986 | Completed postgraduate studies at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (M.A.) |
| 1984 | Graduated from Oil Painting Course, Fine Arts Department, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (B.A.) |
| 1998 | London Institute honorary doctorate |
| 1993 | Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris |
| 1990–1991 | DAAD Scholarship Berliner Kunstprogramm Berlin, |
| 1990 | ACC - Asian Cultural Council, New York |
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, Japan
Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Panasonic Museum in Osaka, Japan
FARET Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan
TV Asahi building, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Opera City, Tokyo, Japan
Chiba City Museum, Chiba, Japan
Group Home Sala in Florence Village, Akita, Japan
The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Japan
Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi, Japan
Saitama Prefectural University, Saitama, Japan
Izumi City Plaza, Osaka, Japan
Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Kagawa, Japan
Iwaki City Art Museum, Fukushima, Japan
Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan
M+ Museum, Hong Kong
Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan
Samsung Cultural Foundation, Seoul, Korea
Leeum, Samsung Museum, Seoul, Korea
Chinese Telecom, Taipei, China
Tate Gallery, London, UK
The British Museum, London, UK
Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris, France
Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland
Université de Genève, Switzerland
La Caixa, Barcelona, Spain
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Germany
Fondazione TESECO per l'Arte, Pisa, Italy
Chateau La Coste, Aix-en-Provence, France
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, U.S.A.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, U.S.A.
Dallas Museum of Art, U.S.A.
Denver Art Museum, Denver, U.S.A.
Dannheisser Foundation, New York, U.S.A.
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Oakville Galleries, Oakville, Canada
Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia
| 2005 | ARTISTS SUMMIT, KYOTO, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Kyoto, Japan |
| 2002 | Collaboration with SOPHNET (fashion design brand) 2002 A/W Collection Tokyo 1000 Real Life Project - Death Clock, Tokyo |
| 2000 | Floating Time - Hospice Project, Sotoasahikawa Hospital, Akita |
| 1998 | Portfolio for The Edge of Awareness |
| 1995 | Portfolio for 4. Uluslararasi Istanbul Bienali－ORIENT / ATION |
| 1994 | Mirror, multiple, Spiral, Tokyo |
| 1993 | Over Economy, acrylic, pencil on bank note \10,000 |
| 1992 | Project for PARKETT |
| 1984 | Time Funeral, record jacket, SMS Records |
