Art that Speaks: Meiro Koizumi

Meiro Koizumi (1976, Gunma, Japan) investigates the boundaries between the private and the public, a domain of specific importance to his native Japanese culture. His videos are often based on performances and constructed scenarios. He places characters, played by himself or others, in awkward situations. Often starting harmoniously he gradually heightens the tension manipulating the situation from humorous to painful. His performances focus and enlarge the moment when a situation gets out of control, becomes embarrassing or breaks social rules. His distinguished approach is demonstrated in his video work Confessions (2014), in which he interviews a Japanese man that had left for Paris to join the French Foreign Legion in hopes of experiencing battle. Through his variety of media from film to sculptures and collages, he often centres on the uneasy and awkward interactions that question socially acceptable stereotypes of behaviour. 

In conjunction with his solo show and White Rainbow Gallery, Meiro Koizumi will, in this special talk, introduce his representative works to date and his challenging attitude towards the subject. He will also discuss to what degree art should speak and what it should speak about. 

Koizumi’s works have been exhibited worldwide including Mexico City, Texas, Amsterdam, London, New York, Burgos (Spain), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam),Sydney and Tokyo. His works are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Kadist Art Foundation, Paris, and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.