About
NANJO Yoshitaka
Born in Kagawa Prefecture in 1977, he graduated from the Graduate School of Tokyo Zokei University in 2002. He creates installations and paintings that hypothetically connect the history of a region to the present timeline, and exhibits them all over Japan. He is an artist who has an approach that involves discovering and researching materials on-site, and a skillful ability to compose space that makes use of the scale and various elements of the exhibition venue.
His most recent major activities include creating a diorama of the waterless topography of the Seto Inland Sea from 10,000 years ago inside an old Western-style building for the 2022 Setouchi Triennale, and by actually letting water flow in, creating a space that visualizes the time from the sea level rise to the present day. In his solo exhibition held at KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre in 2024, he told a story about the spiral of time that lies dormant beneath Yokohama's feet, overlaying excavated earthenware and brick folk implements with current video footage, and further layering light, shadow, and music, bringing to life the long period from the time of the Taiko drum to the present day and the breath of the people who lived through each era.
At the 2020 Oku-Noto Triennale, he curated the Tin Theater Museum "Ark of Light," a theater-style folk museum that collected, researched, and utilized everyday items hidden in local storehouses, and received high praise.
Biography
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2018 “Wafting Time” KYOTO ART HOSTEL Kumagusuku, Kyoto, Japan
2017 “Over The Time” ART FRONT GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan
“overlay” GALLERY TAGA2, Tokyo, Japan
“overlay” Galerie Grand E’terna, Pari, France
2016 “Native Landscape”, ART FRONT GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan
2015 “Flowing water (Suiryuu)”, GALLERY TAGA2, Tokyo, Japan
“Mountain tops”, switch point, Tokyo, Japan
2013 “synchroonize”, Shionoe Museum of Art, Kagawa, Japan
2011 “KIWA-KESHIKI -Isemoude 2-”, YUKARI ART CONTEMPORARY,, Tokyo, Japan
2009 “KIWA-KESHIKI -Isemoude 1-”, YUKARI ART CONTEMPORARY,, Tokyo, Japan
2008 “FUJI TOZAN -climbing Mt.Fuji-”, YUKARI ART CONTEMPORARY, Tokyo, Japan
2007 “Yoshitaka Nanjo -The world of the soil-”, COEXIST, Tokyo, Japan
“Tokyo Bay”, switch point, Tokyo, Japan
“Yoshitaka Nanjo exhibition”, Gallery staff selection#16, Sagamihara Citizen’s Gallery,
Kanagawa, Japan
2006 “Koshu Dochu”, Gallery ES, Tokyo, Japan
“1-28-2 Asagaya-kita, Suginami-ku,Tokyo 2006.02.15-2003.12.28” Suikatou, Tokyo, Japan
2003 “5-46-13 Jingumae Shibuya-ku,Tokyo 2003.12.23-2003.12.28”, Gallery ES, Tokyo, Japan
2002 “Must see!”, Gallery ES, Tokyo, Japan
Selected Group Exhibitions
2018 “Water and Land Art Festival 2018 - KOSUDO ART PROJECT 2018 -” , Nigata , Japan
2017 “The Vision Of Contemporary Art 2017” Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan
“Ichihara Art × Mix 2017” Ichihara City, Chiba, Japan
“OKU-NOTO TRIENNALE” Suzu Citu, Kanazawa, Japan
“Takamatsu Contemporary Art Annual vol.06 -Materials That Tell Stories-” Takamatsu Art
Museum, Kagawa, Japan
2016 “ FEEL KYOTO 2016” KITANO Shopping street , Kyoto
“Kosudo×Room306” GINZA OKUNO BUILDING ROOM 306 PROJECT, Tokyo, Japan
“ZOKEI NEXT 50” 3331 Arts Chiyoda Main Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2015 “ AiR Nordland” Nordland Kultursenter , Nordland COUNTY COUNCIL , Norway
“ KOSUDO ART PROJECT 2015 ” , Nigata , Japan
“ Water and Land Art Festival 2015 ” , Nigata , Japan
“Toru Takaoka and Mets Painting Studio lecture Exhibition” , Gallery Sugino , Tokyo ,
Japan
2014 “ KOSUDO ART PROJECT 2014 in TOKYO ” , s.y.p , TOKYO , Japan
“ Water and Land Art Festival 2014 ,KOSUDO ART PROJECT 2014 ” , Nigata , Japan
“ 2014 Geoje Ocean Art Festival” , Busan , KORIA
“Coller Walls”TIME , TIME&STYLE MIDOTOWN(TOKYO MIDOTOWN) , TOKYO, Japan
2013 “NAKANOJO BIENNALE 2013” , Gunma , Japan
“TIEAF2013 -Tokyo International Enviromental Art Forum-” , Tokyo , Japan
“SNIFF OUT 2013” , Osaka
2012 “Looking for a wonderland”, Tokyo Zokei University, Tokyo, Japan
ART KYOTO 2012, Kyoto, Japan
“Nigata Water and Land Art Festival 2012”, Nigata, Japan
“Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2012”, Nigata, Japan
2011 gallery4walls 2nd Anniversary”En”, gallery4walls , Soul , Korea
“ZIPANGU”, Takashimaya , Tokyo Nihonnbashi , Osaka , Kyoto , Japan
“ART OSAKA”, Osaka , Japan
“NAKANJO BIENNALE 2011” , Gunma , Japan
“Good Bye -Sequence2-” , Takamatsu Kogei Hight School , Kagawa , Japan
2010 “ASIAN TOP GALLERY HOTEL ART FAIR”, Hong Kong
Nominated 2th Kinutani award , Tokyo, Japan
Korian International Art Fair , Soul , Korea
“camaboco” Tokyo Zokei University, Tokyo, Japan
“Emerging Directors Art Fair ULYRA 003” SPIRAL , Tokyo, Japa
2009 “BIEAF-2009 Busan International Environment Art Festival”, Busan, Korea
ART TAIPEI 2009, Taipei, Taiwan
“KOMAZAWA MUSEUM X ART”, Komazawa Park Housing Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“TIEAF-2009 Tokyo international Environment Art Festival”, Tokyo, Japan
“TONARI : Their personal episode” Gallery 4walls , Soul, Korea
Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair 2009, Tokyo, Japan
2008 “Art Program Ome 2008 aerial perspective-Ome-U39”, Ome City, Tokyo, Japan
“BIEAF-2008 Busan International Environment Art Festival”, Ulsukdo Art Center, Korea
2007 Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair 2007, Tokyo, Japan
“Illustration 2007, The Choice award”, ITOYA Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Artist in residence in Kannonji, Kannonji, Kagawa, Japan
2005 “Tokyo Wonder Wall 2005”, Metropolitan Museum of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
“WORKS IN STUDIO”, ONS, STUDIO Ushigoya, Studio Co, Kanagawa, Japan
2004 “STUDIO Ushigoya”, Gallery ES, Tokyo, Japan
“9 persons exhibition”, Kobayashi building, Kandajinbocho, Chiyodaku, Tokyo, Japan
“Kei-shikaku-no iroha”, Sagamihara Citizen’s Gallery, Kanagawa, Japan
“Since 1978 alumni of Takamatsu crafts and art university now”, Takamatsu Art museum,
Kagawa,
Japan
2003 “Mt.Fuji”, Gallery ES, Tokyo, Japan
“Open studio”, Sagamihara Citizen’s Gallery, Kanagawa, Japan
“ART?”, node gallery, Tokyo Zokei University, Tokyo, Japan
2002 “Group Exhibition!”, Mitsubishi electronics, info gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2001 “Primal Scream”, Sagamihara Citizen’s Gallery, Kanagawa, Japan
2000 “a moment”, Shibuya Tepco gallery, Tokyo, Japan
