Makoto Oshiro

Based in Berlin, Makoto Oshiro creates works using sound as his primary medium, combining it with a diverse range of materials such as light, electricity, and the movement of objects. He presents live performances using instruments and tools for playing and composing that he creates by combining custom-made devices, electronic circuits, everyday objects, discarded materials, and other familiar elements. In parallel, he creates installation works that focus on the properties of sound, including vibration, interference, and resonance.

He is also a member of the live installation/performance group “(夏の大△)” with Takahiro Kawaguchi and Satoshi Yashiro, and runs the label <Basic Function>.

Major exhibitions include “RAINBOW LOOP: TOWARD A SPECTRAL METHOD” (Artsite Soje, Daejeon, South Korea, 2025), “Whispers (Cylinder)” (Botany, Tokyo, 2024), “Energy in Rural” (Aomori Contemporary Art Centre [ACAC], Aomori, 2023), and “Playfreely: Nervous Systems” (Goodman Arts Center, Singapore, 2021).

Major curatorial and directorial projects include “Grenzfrequenz / Tele-Musicking” (a project commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Goethe-Institut Tokyo; Goethe-Institut Tokyo, German-Japanese Center Berlin, Berlin/Tokyo, 2022) and “Audio Base Camp” (Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM], Yamaguchi, 2022–2024).

Selected Performances

2026 07 “SA-I Festival: Interventions” Artsite Soje, Daejeon, South Korea

2026 06 “Becoming Sculpture” Tabakalera, San Sebastián, Spain

2025 09 “PUNKT Festival 2025” Kristiansand, Norway

2025 08 “你和我 You and Me Festival 3rd △” 䕯耀东方乒乓球倶乐部, Beijing, China

2024 11 “default #18” The Gray Space in The Middle, The Hague, Netherlands

2024 06 “PL Night” Roter Salon, Berlin, Germany

2024 03 “Moers Festival” Moers, Germany

2024 02 “Micro Ambient Music Festival” NTT Inter Communication Center [ICC], Tokyo

2023 05 “日本の戦後の実験音楽シリーズ” Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris, Paris, France

2023 01 “Infant Tree Presents” Café Oto, London, UK

2022 06 “blurred edges 2022” Künstlerhaus FAKTOR, Hamburg, Germany

2022 05 “Grenzfrequenz / Tele-Musicking (ゲーテ・インスティトゥート東京開設60周年記念企画)” German-Japanese Center Berlin, Berlin, Germany

2021 09 “beuys on/off Sounds of Eurasia presents: Playing Beuys’s Records” Goethe-Institut Tokyo

2020 05 “Future Transmissions (From The Other Side Of The Planet)” Radio Tsonami, Chile

2020 02 “No Idea 2020” Austin, Dallas, Shreveport, United States

2019 09 “BlackKaji ArtScience Late” ArtScience Museum, Singapore

2019 02 “サウンドパフォーマンス・プラットフォーム2019” Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, Nagoya

2019 01 “Booked: Tai Kwun Contemporary’s Hong Kong Art Book Fair” Tai Kwun Contemporary (大館), Hong Kong

2019 01 “Intersection In Midair” HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, Hong Kong

2018 10 “空白より感得する” Zuiun-an, Kyoto

2018 02 “恵比寿映像祭2017” Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo

2017 12 “Audio Trading Manual” 1px Offline, Seoul, South Korea

2017 11 “Tsonami Arte Sonoro 2017” Teatro del Parque Cultural de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile

2017 02 “Yo No Bi #2 tour” Islington Mill (Manchester), Fuse Art Space (Bradford), Access Space (Sheffield), Iklectik (London), UK (multiple cities)

2016 03 “Makoto Oshiro & Takahiro Kawaguchi” Issue Project Room, New York, United States

2016 02 “Asian Meeting Festival 2016” Spiral, Tokyo

2015 03 “Multipletap Mexico” Museo Palacio Cantón (Mérida), Auditorio del CEART (Querétaro), Mexico (multiple cities)

Residencies

2023 08 Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (ACAC), Aomori

2017 09 Art Camp Tango, Kyotango City

2016 04 Treasure Hill Artist Village, Taipei, Taiwan

Selected Curatorial & Directorial Projects

2022 - 2024 “Audio Base Camp” Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media, Yamaguchi

2022 05 “Grenzfrequenz / Tele-Musicking (ゲーテ・インスティトゥート東京開設60周年記念企画)” Goethe-Institut Tokyo & German-Japanese Center Berlin, Berlin & Tokyo

2019 10 “Basic Function Festival” Sakuradai pool, Tokyo

2015 11 “展::矢代諭史” space dike, Tokyo

2008 - 2010 “Afterwards vol.1 - vol.3” Superdeluxe & Asahi Art Square, Tokyo

Lectures & Workshops

2026 06 Workshop held at Tabakalera (San Sebastián, Spain) with David Toop and Rie Nakajima

2024 12 Special Lecture, Acoustic Design Course, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University

2023 11 Special Lecture, Direct Media (Sound) Course, Kunsthochschule Kassel

2022 05 Special Lecture, Sound Art Visiting Practitioner Series, London College of Communication / CRiSAP

2019 12 Workshop held at nogezart, organized by Yokohama National University Urban Innovation Laboratory / Acoustic Space Studio

2018 10 Workshop held as part of the PEG Workshop Series at Hamamatsu Kamoe Art Center