Yasumasa Morimura

Born in 1951 in Osaka, Japan. Morimura currently lives in Osaka. He exhibited his first self-portrait work, Portrait／Van Gogh, in 1985. Since then, he has continued to present “self-portrait photographs in the disguise of something or someone” on a variety of subjects with the consistent theme of “I”. His works are completed by approaching the subjects (people and artworks) from his unique perspective while incorporating meticulous research, self-created dioramas and studio set construction, costumes and makeup, etc. At the same time, he has been involved in a wide range of activities including video, performance, and writing. His major works include Art History series, Actress series, and A Requiem series. Having established M@M (Morimura@Museum) in 2018, where visitors can view Morimuraʼs documents and self-produced exhibitions, Morimura continues to work both domestically and internationally.

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

“My Self-Portraits as a Theater of Labyrinths”, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Higashiyama Cube, Kyoto, 2022;

“Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection × Morimura Yasumasa A Gift of the Sea, M-Style Morimura Yasumasaʼs Auto-Mytholo”, Artizon Museum, Tokyo, 2021;

“Yasumasa Morimura: Ego Obscura, Tokyo 2020”, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 2020;

“YASUMASA MORIMURA: EGO OBSCURA”, Japan Society, New York, 2018;

“My Chronicle 1985 ‒ 2018”, ShugoArts, Tokyo, 2018;

“Yasumasa Morimura. The history of the self-portrait”, Pushkin Museum, Moscow, 2017;

“The Self-Portraits of YASUMASA MORIMURA: My Art, My Story, My History”, National Museum of Art, Osaka, 2016;

“Yasumasa Morimura: Theater of the Self”, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, 2014;

“Yasumasa Morimura: LAS MENINAS RENACEN DE NOCHE”, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, 2013;

“Yasumasa Morimura: Rembrandt Room Revisited”, Hara Museum, Tokyo, 2013;

“A Requiem: Art on Top of the Battlefield”, Travelled to Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; Toyota Municipal Museum of Art; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima; Hyogo Prefecture Museum of Art, Kobe, 2011-2021;

“Yasumasa Morimura̶Requiem for the XX Century, Twilight of the turbulent Gods”, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Galleria di Piazza San Marco, Venice, 2007.

Selected Publications:

Jigazo-no-yukue, Kobun-sha; Utsukushiitte-nandaro? Bijutsu-no-susume, Riron-sha; Bijutsu-no-kaibogakukogi, Chikuma-gakugei-bunko; Geijyutuka-M-no-dekirumade, Chikuma-syobo.

Selected Public Collections:

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Ishikawa, Japan); Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia); Carnegie Museums of Art (Pittsburgh, USA); Hara Museum of Contemporary Art (Tokyo, Japan); J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain); Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan); Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA); The National Museum of Art, Osaka (Osaka, Japan); The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (Kyoto, Japan); Saatchi Gallery (London, UK); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco, USA); Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan); Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, USA).