Tetsuya Umeda

Tetsuya Umeda’s work focuses on the creation of dynamic environments, through the combination of architectural structures, sound and light, and considers their impacts on human behaviour. Umeda’s works, which are commonly site specific and temporal, utilize found domestic objects as a basis for his installations. These richly dynamic and embodied environments, that are often situated outside of the gallery context, encourage audience member to explore the interaction of the constituent parts of the installation and through doing so recognize their relation and individuated sensing within the work.

Umeda’s recent group exhibition includes “Double Vision: Contemporary Art From Japan” (Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow / Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, 2012), “Son et Lumière, et sagesse profonde” (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, 2012-2013) and “Doing history!” (Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, 2016) and Taiwan East Coast Land Arts Festival (Taitung, 2018). And the recent solo exhibitions includes “Science of Superstition” (Sonic Protest Festival, Montreuil, 2015) and “See, Look at Observed what Watching is” (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, 2016).

He also works in theatre contexts, focusing on the function of the theatrical space and working with a choir of local participants. Umeda explores ideas of deterritorialisation and spatial relationals within the frame of the theatre. Recent performance works include a night boat cruse tour piece “7 Ships” (Osaka, 2016), “Internship” (Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, 2016 / TPAM 2018, Kanagawa Arts Theater, 2018), “Composite” (Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels, 2017), “Ringo” (Liveworks2017, Sydney, 2017), and “Water Running Upwards” (Wiesbaden Biennale, Wiesbaden, 2018).

Tetsuya Umeda supported by The Saison Foundation