Kenji Yanobe

Kenji Yanobe

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
  • Education

    Kyoto City University of Arts, 1989 – Majored in Sculpture

    Royal College of Art, England

    Graduate School of Kyoto City University of Arts, 1991

  • 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

  • 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, Japan

     

     

    2013.
    _____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

  • 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.

アート画像

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)

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