The first individual exhibition of Koji Kamoji in Japan opened to the public on 8 April 2025. The comprehensive presentation of the works by the Polish-Japanese artist who has been living and creating in Poland for 66 years now may be admired at WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. The “Koji Kamoji. Don’t Let the Unnecessary Overshadow the Whole” exhibition will be available for viewing until 22 June 2025.
Koji Kamoji – a Polish artist from Japan
Koji Kamoji, born in Tokyo in 1935, has been living and working in Poland since the 1960s. His art, inspired both by Japanese aesthetics and European modernism, stands out thanks to its reflection upon space, substance and spirituality. Koji Kamoji has been co-creating the Polish avantgarde scene for over 50 years now. He cooperated with Galeria Foksal and such artists as Henryk Stażewski or Edward Krasiński. On 18 March 2025, he received the golden “Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture”.
On 8 April 2025, an individual exhibition by Koji Kamoji opened in Japan at WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art. The event, organised in cooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Zachęta - National Gallery of Art and WATARI-UM, offers a unique opportunity to become familiar with the works of one of the most important figures on the Polish contemporary art scene.
Koji Kamoji, Hiroshima, 1990, installation, collection of the Museum of Art in Łódź, “Silence and the Will to Live” exhibition, Zachęta - National Gallery of Art, 2018, image by Marek Krzyżanek/Zachęta archives
“Koji Kamoji. Don’t Let the Unnecessary Overshadow the Whole” – a comprehensive review of the artist’s works
The exhibition held in Tokyo offers a comprehensive review of Kamoji’s achievements - dating back to the early 1960s as well as encompassing his latest works. The selection of the artist’s works showcases the key features of his art, such as: adequacy of life and work, visual minimalism, conscious elimination of things, philosophical contemplation or a reflection focusing on inner sensations, striving for harmony with oneself as well as with nature and the surroundings. Different works are displayed at the exhibition, but all of them are inseparably linked with the internal and deepened experiences of the artist.
As Maria Brewińska, the curator of “Koji Kamoji. Don’t Let the Unnecessary Overshadow the Whole” exhibition noted: “the exhibition showcases, inter alia, the famous paintings created in Pruszków in the 1960s, relief compositions with openings and some key installations, such as “Two Poles” (1972) - dealing with in-depth considerations concerning the composition, and “Draught” (1975) - about the transience of life, or “Hiroshima” (1995) that addresses the collective experience. The well-known “Sasaki’s Moon” series (1995), devoted to a friend from the artist’s youth, and a selection of drawings dating back to 2011-2017 and serving as evidence of meditation and the taming of chaos are presented at the exhibition as well”. Drawing series inspired by Japanese traditions and European abstract art are showcased there too. The Tokyo exhibition not only pays homage to the artistic path of Koji Kamoji, but also serves as an opportunity to reflect deeper on the universal values that are present in his works - such as harmony, time, space and seeking for the sense of being.
“Koji Kamoji. Don’t Let the Unnecessary Overshadow the Whole”
- dates: 8 April - 22 June 2025
- location: WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokio, Shibuya-ku, Jingu-mae 3-7-6
- artist: Koji Kamoji
- curator: Maria Brewińska
- organising entities: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Zachęta - National Gallery of Art
- partner: Polish Institute in Tokyo, Polish Investment and Trade Agency
- cooperation: Fundacja Razem Pamoja
- PR support: Polish Investment and Trade Agency, organiser of Poland’s participation at the EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai