The Ideal 'Rock' We Envision

Simon Fujiwara, an artist whose work is recognized globally, received the Cartier Award in 2010 and participated in the 2011 Singapore Biennale and the 29th São Paulo Biennial.

'Rocks' have served as vessels for contemplation of nature and the transcendent divine, functioning as objects of worship and sometimes as symbolic religious motifs. Fujiwara's research for this exhibition pursued the ideal form of such a rock.

The exhibition 'THE PROBLEM OF THE ROCK' is an attempt to question contemporary society through a series of new works by Fujiwara, rooted in his research at the shrine, exploring the theme of 'rock.' The 'ideal form of rock we envision' has taken shape within these new pieces, inspired by what he saw and heard at Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine.

In addition to new three-dimensional works, this exhibition also features a diverse display of sketches, travel journals, photographs, and letters created for the exhibition, reflecting Fujiwara's contemplation of "our present."

Furthermore, until Saturday, April 27, the contemporary art gallery 'TARO NASU' in Kanda is hosting 'Aphrodisiac Foundations,' a new installation exhibition that sheds light on the relationship between urban environments, architecture, and eroticism, using the former Imperial Hotel Tokyo, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright where Fujiwara's parents met, as its subject.



Simon Fujiwara
Born in London in 1982. After studying architecture at Cambridge University in the UK, he pursued fine arts at the Städelschule in Frankfurt, Germany. With a Japanese father and British mother, he is known for his highly theatrical, lecture-performance style, installations, sculptures, videos, and fictional writings that explore human origins and his own family history. He has been invited to numerous international exhibitions, receiving the Cartier Award for emerging artists at Frieze Art Fair in 2010. In 2012, he held a solo exhibition at Tate St Ives in the UK, garnering significant global attention.