Special Talk Program Mori Keita × Tatehata Akira × Masanori Aoyagi “Toi no Ito”

Event Description

This special talk brings together TOKYO ATLAS participating artist Mori Keita, Artistic Director Tatehata Akira, and Masanori Aoyagi, Chair of the Executive Committee for the Tokyo International Festival of Arts and Culture.

The three speakers will discuss Mori Keita's works and artistic practice from their respective perspectives.

Event Overview

Date & Time: Saturday, December 5, 2026, 5:00–6:00 PM
Venue: ISLE SHINAGAWA
Eligibility & Capacity: General public / 50 participants
Admission: Free (advance reservation required)
Sponsor: Taisei Oncho Co., Ltd.

Speakers

Mori Keita

Born in Hokkaido in 1981. Lives and works in Paris.
After graduating from the Department of Sculpture at Tama Art University in 2004, he moved to France as an overseas research fellow of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. He studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris and later completed the Advanced Art Program at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Université Paris VIII.
Known for his distinctive drawings made by affixing threads to paper and walls using a glue gun, Mori's practice is grounded in the hypothesis that the origin of the line lies in the thread. Through this approach, he explores “bugs” and errors embedded within architecture, textiles, urban structures, and various systems.
His works, in which intricate structures coexist with chance, have received international recognition for their spatial and sculptural expansion of drawing.
Recent major exhibitions include the solo exhibition ／ (Tama Art University Sculpture Building Gallery, Tokyo, 2026), the solo exhibition A Drowsy Name (agnès b. galerie boutique, Tokyo, 2023), The Potentiality of Drawing (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo, 2020), and Walk The Line – New Paths in Drawing (Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany, 2015).

Tatehata Akira

Art critic and poet / Director, Yayoi Kusama Museum; Director, Kyoto Art Center; Director, Kawaguchi Museum of Art; Professor Emeritus, Kyoto City University of Arts and Tama Art University.
Tatehata has held positions including Chief Curator at the National Museum of Art, Osaka; Professor at Tama Art University; Director of the National Museum of Art, Osaka; President of Kyoto City University of Arts; President of Tama Art University; and Visiting Scholar at Columbia University.
Alongside his work in planning contemporary art exhibitions and involvement in education and research at museums and universities, he has served in leadership roles for major international exhibitions, including Commissioner of the Japan Pavilion at Venice Biennale (1990, 1993) and as artistic director of Yokohama Triennale (2001), Aichi Triennale (2010), and Cultural City of East Asia Kyoto Asia Corridor (2017).
His honors include the Order of Australia, Commendation for the 50th Anniversary of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and Kyoto City Cultural Merit Award. As a poet, he has received the Rekitei Newcomer Award, Takami Jun Prize, and Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize.

Masanori Aoyagi

Born in 1944. Historian and archaeologist specializing in ancient Roman art and archaeology.
He has held positions including Professor at the Faculty of Letters, the University of Tokyo; Director of the National Museum of Western Art; President of the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art; and the 21st Commissioner for Cultural Affairs.
He currently serves as Director of the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tama Art University, Director General of the Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, Director of the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Chairperson of the Setagaya Arts Foundation, and Director General of Arts Council Tokyo at the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture.
He is also Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, a member of the Japan Academy, and a Person of Cultural Merit.
For approximately 50 years, he has been involved in archaeological excavations of ancient Roman sites in Italy. His honors include the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon (2006), the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star (2017), and recognition as a Person of Cultural Merit (2021).