Born in Shiga Prefecture in 1960. Using old books as material, he creates works that explore the "sound" and "form" of words and characters. He has participated in the Gifu Ogaki Biennale (2015), the Minoh Forest Art Walk Takiyasu-ji Project (2025), and others.
Hiroyuki Tanaka
Hiroyuki Tanaka
Japan
⬤ Works in 2026
"The Sound of a Waterfall"
Made from recycled antique books / 2025
Height 100cm x Width 300cm x Depth 150cm (Size adjustable)
"The Sound of Rain"
Processed from antique books / 2026
Height 20cm x Width 100cm x Depth 40cm
⬤ Message
Words and letters possess a certain kind of "materiality" in the form of "sound" and "shape." Otherwise, they wouldn't even exist in the first place. As I ponder these things, a mysterious aspect of words and letters, different from their role as a medium for conveying meaning, seems to emerge. Within a closed book, letters that cannot remain purely a medium of meaning may, freed from the author's intentions, murmur, perhaps even becoming the sound of rain or a waterfall.
⬤ Biography
Born in Shiga Prefecture in 1960.
1982 Graduated from Shiga University, Faculty of Education
Summer Memories 2013, Dreams of the Forest / Yamazaki Mazak Museum of Art (Nagoya)
2013 Solo Exhibition / Itami City Craft Center "The World of Words and Letters Unfolded from Antique Books"
2014 Solo Exhibition / gallery16 "creatures in words" (Kyoto)
2015 Gifu Ogaki Biennale / IAMAS
2019 Solo Exhibition / gallery16 "existing in words" (Kyoto)
2024 Vvk38 Curated by Hiroyuki Tanaka / KUNST ARZT (Kyoto)
2024 Solo Exhibition / Kono Residence (Osaka)
2025 Minoh Forest Art Walk Takiyasu-ji Temple Project / Takiyasu-ji Temple
2025 Sensory Reading - Artist Book Exhibition - / gallery Unfold (Kyoto)
2026 Sensory Reading-Artist`s book Exhibition-/Now space (Taipei)