Yokohama Museum of Art Presents 'Yuko Mohri: Recompose – Japan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale Homecoming Exhibition' July 24 (Fri), 2026 – November 23 (Mon, Holiday)

Installation view of 'Compose,' Japan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale (2024) (Organized by The Japan Foundation) Photo: Yasuhide Kuguya

Overview

Yuko Mohri (born 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture) participated as the representative artist for the Japan Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, presenting her solo exhibition 'Compose' commissioned by The Japan Foundation and curated by Lee Soo-kyung. The exhibition, which garnered significant attention in Venice, now returns to Yokohama.

Mohri is an artist known for her installations that use everyday objects (man-made and natural) and devices to generate irregular movements and noise, with natural phenomena such as magnetism, gravity, and air fluctuations as her primary motifs. Her works express the invisible energies, unseen interactions, and cycles between objects—natural principles we often overlook—infused with a sense of humor.

The title of the Venice exhibition, 'Compose,' means composition or construction, but its etymology traces back to 'com' (together) and 'pose' (to place). Having long explored the relationships between objects and the forces they generate, Mohri used this exhibition to re-examine the meanings of 'coexistence' and 'symbiosis' in a world facing crises of division at various levels, including the pandemic and regional conflicts.

The exhibition consists of two ongoing series by Mohri. One is 'Moré Moré,' a project she has developed for over a decade, inspired by frequent water leaks in Tokyo's subway stations and the improvised ways station staff manage them using nearby tools. This series creates spontaneous water circulation systems using various household items. The other series is 'Decomposition,' which features fruits as its motif. Electrodes inserted into the fruits generate irregular sounds and lights as the fruits slowly decay and their moisture levels change. Water is the common motif in both series. These works, visualizing water’s circulation and transformation, engage our five senses through light, sound, and scent that permeate the entire space.

Two years after the Venice exhibition, experience the reassembled (recomposed) Yuko Mohri exhibition at the Yokohama Museum of Art.

Featured Works

Photo: Yasuhide Kuguya

Moré Moré [Leaky]

A sculptural series inspired by frequent water leaks in Tokyo’s subway stations and the improvised ways station staff address them using nearby tools. Spontaneous water circulation systems are created using various everyday items.

Photo: Yasuhide Kuguya

Decomposition

Various fruits placed on a table slowly decay over time. Irregular sounds and lights are generated through electrodes inserted into the fruits, responding to changes in their internal moisture levels.

Excerpt from the Curator’s Note for 'Compose,' Japan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale

The original meaning of 'Compose' is 'com·pose = to place together.'

The 'Compose' exhibition asks what it means for people, fragmented by post-pandemic divisions, conflicts, and global crises, to be placed together again and to coexist. How can people be empowered creatively in times of 'crisis'? This is precisely the insight Mohri gained from observing station staff confronting unexpected leaks. The leaks are never fully repaired, and the fruits eventually decay into compost. Yet within these small acts lies a glimmer of hope born from our modest creativity.

— Lee Soo-kyung

Artist Profile

Photo: Naoki Takenaga

Yuko Mohri

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1980.

Mohri creates installations and sculptures that combine ready-made objects, found objects, and self-made devices. Rather than focusing on construction, her works center on 'events' that evolve according to environmental conditions. The energy generated through electronic circuits reflects unpredictably through the composition of the work, conveying fragments of unforeseen daily phenomena and the underlying complexity of larger world structures through visual, auditory, and sometimes tactile experiences.

Recent Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

'Entanglements' (Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2025 / Centro Botín, Santander, 2026)

'Piano Solo: 12th January, 1900' (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, 2025)

'Jam Session: Ishibashi Foundation Collection × Yuko Mohri on Physis' (Artizon Museum, Tokyo, 2024)

'Moré and Moré' (Aranya Art Center, Qinhuangdao, 2024)

International Exhibitions

'60th Venice Biennale' (Venice, 2024)

'14th Gwangju Biennale' (Gwangju, 2023)

'23rd Biennale of Sydney' (Sydney, 2022)

'34th São Paulo Biennale' (São Paulo, 2021)

Awards

Nissan Art Award Grand Prix (2015)

Kanagawa Bunka-shō Mirai-shō (Future Prize) (2016)

67th Geidōsen Art Encouragement Prize, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2017)

Calder Prize (2026)

Learn More

Exhibition Overview

Exhibition Title

Yuko Mohri: Recompose

Homecoming Exhibition of the Japan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale

Venue

Yokohama Museum of Art (3-4-1 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama)

Gallery 9

Dates

July 24 (Fri), 2026 – November 23 (Mon, Holiday)

Opening Hours

10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on November 21 and 22) *Last admission 30 minutes before closing

Closed

Thursdays (Open on August 13, September 24, and November 19)

Admission

Free

Organized by

Yokohama Museum of Art (Yokohama Foundation for the Promotion of Arts and Culture), Melco Group Co., Ltd.

Cooperation

Lee Soo-kyung, Yutaka Kikutake Gallery, Minatomirai Line

Inquiries

Yokohama Museum of Art TEL: 045-221-0300 (10:00–18:00, closed on Thursdays)

https://yokohama.art.museum/

*Details on related events and the exhibition will be announced on the website.

https://yokohama.art.museum/exhibition/202607_mohriyuko

Poster Design: Natsuko Yoneyama