Yusuke Muroi
Born in 1990, Yusuke Muroi is an artist influenced by graffiti and Art Brut. He creates a substantial body of work, including paintings, drawings, and objects, with a self-critical perspective on the academia of art. He presents large-scale, site-specific installations using these creations.
At the core of his work is a profound awareness of the inherent violence within artistic expression. Starting in 2009, he ventured into outdoor art creation, especially in the realm of graffiti, influenced by street art. While attending university, he was significantly inspired by Jean Dubuffet's concept of Art Brut. This led him to employ techniques such as mimicking rough brushwork, excessive prolificacy, themes rooted in prophetic dreams and relentless collecting. Additionally, he incorporated the experience of working as a manual laborer, using the repression of such work as a creative source. However, he perceives these actions as a form of exploitation within the context, prompting introspective and penitential expressions.
Muroi's works feature many gestures common in contemporary art. These gestures, often obscured by the overwhelming volume of materials, merge to grant his installations a critical edge concerning the power structures and societal frameworks surrounding art. While the aesthetics that would readily validate the work as an art piece might not be immediately apparent, tracing the traces of his creative process reveals the viewers the conflicts arising from his deep understanding of contemporary art and the egoistic struggle of an artist.
In addition to his personal artistic pursuits, Yusuke Muroi is actively engaged in various activities. He has formed "Toho-ha," a contemporary embodiment of the 1980s "the Street Observation Society." He is also a part of the group "Isshu Mawatte Tsurai (One Full Circle, Then It Gets Tough)," which repurposes discarded items into art through the power of sensibility. Additionally, he organized the artist collective "Tofu and Kani Club," where the daily commitment is to create one artwork per day. Furthermore, he operates the gallery space "AP Donou" located in Ibaraki Prefecture.
*The Street Observation Society, established in 1986 and led by the Japanese avant-garde artist Akasegawa Genpei, is a collective that engages in the observation and collection of often-overlooked aspects of urban environments. Their activities involve the observation and collection of elements like city architecture, signs, Thomasson items, building fragments, manhole covers, and more.
*Thomasson is a type of conceptual art named by a Japanese artist Akasegawa Genpei in the 1980s. It refers to a useless relic or structure that has been preserved as part of a building or the built environment, which has become a piece of art in itself. These objects, although having the appearance of pieces of conceptual art, were not created to be viewed as such. Akasegawa deemed them even more art-like than art itself, and named them "hyperart". In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in Thomasson.
Solo & Two person Exhibitions
2022, B-Sai Education, Open Letter, Tokyo
2021, Kodomo-Otona Clinic, 2x2x2 by imlabor, Tokyo
2019, KEN＆Peace, HIGURE17-15cas, Tokyo
2019, Hamster-Powered Night Light, mumei, Tokyo
2018, Artwork to Describe Each Other's Work, Yukobo, Tokyo
2017, Show Case: Cake/Wabi-Sabi, GEIDAI SHOKUDO, Ibaraki
2016, Super Academic, Tanokuchi Building, Kanagawa
2014, Have You Ever Thought About How a Shrimp Feels?, Ebi house Demado gallery, Ibaraki
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023, Track, dash, stroke, Goya Curtain, Tokyo
2022, POCORART vol.10, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo
2022, Muraokoshi Action, AP Donou, Ibaraki
2022, P Tsukihate, IN SITU, Aichi
2021, ARTIST RUNNING FESTIVAL 2021年 in KYOTO, soda, kyoto
2021, Re-Present: Instruction and Protocol, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2021, Gunma Biennale for Young Artist 2021年, The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma
2021, Where is a place for us?, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2021, THE ヨエロ寸 -尋- , VOU, Kyoto
2020, ARTIST RUNNING FESTIVAL, XYZ collective, Tokyo
2020, POCORART vol.9, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo
2019, rooms EXPERIENCE 38 TOKYO no Genre, TOC Building, Tokyo
2019, MS1, Pehu, Osaka
2019, Tokyo university of the arts graduation works exhibitions,
The University Library, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2018, GAP Open Studio, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2018, Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art, Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kanagawa
2017, Art and Education Research Project, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2017, Yanaka Art Project -The Whole and Part-, House of Denchu Hirakushi, Tokyo
2017, AIR / POOL: To Stir Up the City,, Around Nishioyama Station, Tokyo
2017, Gunma Biennale for Young Artist 2017年, The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma
2016, POCORART vol.6 Prize exhibition, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo
2016, Seaside Poolside, Inage Coast Park Pool, Chiba
2016, POCORART vol.6, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo
2015, Kenshoten, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2015, Cho-tamatama13, KOGANEI ART SPOT Syato 2F, Tokyo
2015, MURAL 1MIN ANIMATION TORIDE, JR Toride Station east and west walkway, Ibaraki
2015, Spring board 2015年, Ueno BREAK Station gallery, Tokyo
2015, Tokyo university of the arts graduation works exhibitions, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo
2014, WIP, Tokyo University of the Arts, Ibaraki
2014, Laboratory of Soy sauce Arts, Old Kamada soy sauce, Kagawa
2014, materialising Ⅱ, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2013, Delta -The Touch of Possibility-, Bank Art NYK studio, Yokohama
2013, Delta,The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2013, admission3, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2012, Sentan 13th class weeks, Aobaso, Tokyo
2012, Geisai Sentan 2012年, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2011, APART ART PART PARTY, kunitachicity yaho6847-3, Tokyo
2011, Toride Art Path 2011年, Tokyo University of the Arts, Ibaraki
2011, I,CLUTURE TOKYO,Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2011, floating view 2, shinjuku ganka garo, Tokyo
2011, Efuchu syukaizyo, ûma et merdre, Tokyo
Awards and Honorable Mentions
2023, Yamanashi Media Arts Award, Honorable Mention
2022, POCORART vol.10, Honorable Mention
2022, Discovering the Next Generation of Young Graphic Designers,
2022, 25th “1_WALL” Graphics Exhibition1, Yuri Uenishi's award
2021, Gunma Biennale for Young Artist 2021年, Honorable Mention
2020, POCORART vol.9, Honorable Mention
2019, Tokyo no Genre, Etsuko Yano Prize
2019, Tokyo University of Arts Graduation Exhibition, Salon de Printemps Prize
2018, Exhibition of the Taro Okamoto Award for Contemporary Art, Honorable Mention
2018, Ataka Prize (for B.F.A. Project)
2017, Gunma Biennale for Young Artist 2017, Honorable Mention
2016, POCORART vol.6, Tomoko Konoike Prize
2015, Tokyo University of Arts Graduation Exhibition, Purchase Prize
