
Kenji Yanobe
B. 1965 in Osaka,
and currently based in Kyoto, Japan
Kenji Yanobe is a contemporary artist known for exploring technology, society, and the human condition, often addressing nuclear energy and the aftermath of war. His art blends playful imagery with serious themes, incorporating elements of science fiction, manga, and pop culture to create surreal, thought-provoking pieces. Yanobe’s work, often featuring robotic or mechanized elements, reflects his anxieties about technology’s impact on the future. His iconic sculpture, Sun Child, a child in a radiation suit holding a glowing sun, symbolises the legacy of nuclear energy.
Another prominent theme in his recent works is the ‘Ship’s Cat,’ a figure representing hope for future space travelers. Inspired by the historical role of cats during the Age of Exploration, Yanobe has created various sculptures of this cat, which have been exhibited globally. Yanobe continues to use his art as a catalyst for social change and reflection on humanity’s challenges.
- /Education
- /Solo Exhibition
- /Group Exhibition
- /Awards
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Education
Kyoto City University of Arts, 1989 – Majored in Sculpture
Royal College of Art, England
Graduate School of Kyoto City University of Arts, 1991
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Solo Exhibition
2023. SHIP’S CAT, Hankyu Umeda Gallery and Shukusai Plaza, Osaka, Japan
2021.
_____ Sun Sister (Rebirth), The new building of the Ohara Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan_____ TANKING MACHINE REBIRTH YANOBE Kenji in 1990s, MtK Contemporary Art, Kyoto, Japan
2019. Come to Ship’s Cat + kame3 2019 Festival, Takamatsu Marugame-machi Shotengai [Shopping Street], Kagawa, Japan
2016.
_____ FUKUSHIMA WORKS, GALLERY OFF GRID, Fukushima, Japan_____ CINEMATIZE, Takamatsu Art Museum, Kagawa, Japan
2011. TARO 100 Festival / Kenji Yanobe: Children of the Sun, Children of Taro, Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2010.
_____ Mythos, Nizayama Forest Art Museum, Toyoma, Japan_____ Phantasmagoria, Yurinso, Ohara Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan
2009.
_____ Suito Osaka –Aqua Metropolis Osaka– 2009: Torayan’s Great Adventure, Osaka-City, Osaka, Japan_____ ULTRA, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi, Japan
2007. The World of Torayan, Kirishima Open Air Museum, Kagoshima, Japan
2005. KINDERGARTEN, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi, Japan
2003. MEGALOMANIA, The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
2002. Time-Travel Double-Cycle Project, ISSEY MIYAKE FÊTE / MDS|G, Tokyo, Japan
1998. Luna Project –Last Amusement Park of the World–, Kirin Art Space Harajuku, Tokyo / Kirin Plaza Osaka, Osaka / Mitsubishi-Jisho Artium, Fukuoka, Japan
1997. Survival System Train and Other Sculpture, Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, USA
1992. Paranoia Fortress, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki, Japan
1991. An Eccentric Life of Kenji Yanobe, Kirin Plaza Osaka, Osaka, Japan
1990. Tanking Machine, Art Space NIJI, Kyoto, Japan
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Group Exhibition
2024. Matri 2.0, Art Mumbai, India
2023. Maitri, India Art Fair, India
2020.
_____ KYOTO STEAM, Higashiyama Cube, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Japan_____ Fukushima Biennale 2020 “Sirakawa Art through FUGETSU(SiAtF),” Shirakawa Komine Castle, Fukushima, Japan
2019.
_____ Shogusai, Ninai-do, Sai-to, Hieizan Enryakuji, Shiga_____ PARERGON: JAPANESE ART OF THE 1980S AND 1990S, BLUM & POE, Los Angeles, USA
2017.
_____Eriko Horiki and Kenji Yanobe “SHIP’S CAT,” Salle Soufflot, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France_____ JAPANORAMA–New Vision on Art Since 1970, Centre Pompidou-Metz, France
_____ Chouyou–Nihonmatsu Art Festival 2017, Nihonmatsu Castle (Kasumigajō Park) and others, Fukushima, Japan
2016. Fukushima Biennale 2016–indication–, Nihonmatsu Castle(Kasumigajō Park), Fukushima, Japan
2015. Rimpa 400 Year Celebration Festival: PANTHEON, Kyoto Botanical Garden, Kyoto, Japan
2014.
_____O Fire Yanobe Kenji × Maywa Denk × Ishibashi Yoshimasa, Kyoto City Hall Square, Kyoto, Japan_____Contemporary Art Biennale Fukushima 2014, Kitakata-City, Aizu, Fukushima, Japan
_____Selected Artists in Kyoto The Way of Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015
_____ [Special Exhibition], Annex Hall, The Museum of Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan2013.
_____Ohara Contemporary, Ohara Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan_____ Setouchi Triennale 2013, Shodoshima-Cho and others, Kagawa, Japan
_____ Aichi triennale 2013: Awakening–Where Are We Standing?–Earth, Memory and Resurrection, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art and others, Aichi, Japan
2012.
_____ NAMURA ART MEETING, Namura Shipbuilding Site, Osaka, Japan_____ Artists and the Disaster–Documentation in Progress–, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito, Ibraki, Japan
_____ FUKUSHIMA BIENNALE 2012–SORA–, Fukushima Air Port, Fukushima, Japan
_____ First Kyiv Biennale of Contemporary Art, Mystetskyi Arsenal, Ukraine
_____Double Vision: Contemporary Art from Japan, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Russia / Haifa Museum of Art, Israel
2010. Munasawagi no Natsuyasumi, Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, Fukushima, Japan
2008. Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan, ICP, New York, USA
2005. Little Boy: The Arts Of Japan’s Exploding Subculture, Japan Society, New York, USA
2004. Roppongi Crossing, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2002-2003. EXPOSE 2002 far beyond dreams, Kirin Plaza Osaka, Osaka / Yokohama Akarenga Redbrick Warehouses, Kangawa, Japan
2000. Gift of Hope, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
1999. Ground Zero Japan, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki, Japan
1998. Donai Yanen ! Et maintenant ! La création contemporaine au Japon, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France
1996.
_____ Traffic, CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art, Bordeaux, France_____Art Embodied, MAC Museum of Contemporary Art, Marseille, France
1995. Japan Today, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark, and others(-1997)
1994. Platons Höhle, Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum Hagen, Germany
1993. 2nd Kitakyusyu Biennale–Aspect of Time, Kitakyusyu Municipal Museum of Art, Fukuoka, Japan
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Awards
2022. The 57th Osaka City Citizen’s Commendation, Japan
2017. The 29th Kyoto Fine Arts Cultural Award, Japan
2012. The Kyoto Prefecture Culture Prize and Distinguished Services Prize, Japan
2011. The 21st Takashimaya Cultural Awards, Japan
2009. Osaka Cultural Prize, Japan
2006. The 21st Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture in Japan, Ube Industries, LTD. Prize, Japan
1999. Sakuya Kono Hana Prize, Japan
1993. The Gotoh Memorial Cultural Award, Young Artist Prize.
1990. Kirin Plaza Osaka Contemporary Art Award, Grand Prix.

Black Urushi: Bringing A Fortune, 2023
Stainless steel, Acrylic
50.5 x 41 x 18 cm (Art Piece) / 6 x 30 x 30 cm (Pedestal)