Mika Tajima
1975

Born in Los Angeles, US
Lives and works in New York, US

Education
2003
1997
1997

Columbia University, School of the Arts, MFA
Bryn Mawr College, BA (Fine Arts/East Asian Studies)
The Fabric Workshop and Museum Apprentice Training Program, Post-Graduate Apprentice

Solo Exhibitions
2023
2022

2021
2019
2018
2017

2016
2015
2014
2013
2011

2010
2009
2008

2007

Yu-un, Tokyo, JP
Spectral, TARO NASU, Tokyo, JP
Appear, Dazaifu Tenmangu, Fukuoka, JP
YOU MUST BE FREE, Kayne Griffin, Los Amgeles, US
Regulation, Simon Lee, London, UK
Pranayama (Monolith, F, Rose Quartz), Kayne Griffin , Los Angeles, US
PSYCHO GRAPHICS, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, US
PSYCHO GRAPHICS, Art Production, Los Angeles, US
ULTERIOR, Francesca Minini, Milan, ITÆTHER, Borusan Contemporary , Istanbul, TR , curated by Margot Norton
Touchless, TARO NASU, Tokyo, JP
AIR, Raster Gallery , Warsaw , POL
After Life, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Connecticut, US
Three Star Books, Force Touch, Paris
Emotion Commune, Protocinema, Istanbul, TR
EMBODY, 11R, New York, US
Human Synth, TARO NASU, Tokyo, JP
Total Body Conditioning, Art in General, New York, US
Negative Entropy, Eleven Rivington, New York, US
Galleria Quadrado Azul, Lisbon, PT
Aspen Museum of Art, Aspen, US
The Architect’s Garden, UT Visual Art Center, Austin, US
After the Martini Shot, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, US
Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, US
The Double, Bass Museum, Miami, US
The Extras, X Initiative, New York, US
Deal or No Deal, Kevin Bruk Gallery, Miami, US
The Double, The Kitchen, New York, US
The Double, Centre for Opinions on Music and Art, Berlin, DE
Thin Line, Circuit, Lausanne, CH
New Humans: Disassociate, Elizabeth Dee Gallery, New York, US

Group Exhibitions
2023
2022
2021
2020

WORLD CLASSROOM: Contemporary Art through School Subjects, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, JP
Hawai’i Triennial 2022, Hawaii, US
Worlds of Networks, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR
Speculative Portraits, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, US
Hawai’i Contemporary Art Summit, Hawaii, US
gesture, form, technique V, Taro Nasu, Tokyo, JP
Sculpture, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, US
Painting, Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles, US

Piramide Bldg. 4F, 6-6-9 Roppongi Minatoku Tokyo 106-0032 Japan T: +81(0)3-5876-6900 F: +81(0)3-5786-6902 info@taronasugallery.com www.taronasugallery.com

2019

2018

2017
2016

2015

Fabric As…, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, US
Okayama Art Summit 2019 : IF THE SNAKE, Okayama, JP
Dirty Protest: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection, The Hammer Museum,
Los Angeles, US
Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965–2018, Whitney Museum of American Art,
New York, US
The Ubiquity of Borders : Japanese Contemporary, Gallery Baton, Seoul. KR
Artists and Their Books/Books and Their Artists, Getty Research Institute at the Getty Center , Los Angeles, US
The Mechanics of Fluids, Marianne Boesky Galley, New York, US
COLORI, Castello di Rivoli and GAM, Torino, IT
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, Palais de Tokyo, FR
Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju Biennale PLAZA, KOR
Kanye Corcoran Griffin, Los Angeles, CA
DIS-PLAY / RE-PLAY, Austrian Cultural Forum, New York, US
Office Space, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Painting@ The Very Edge of Art, University of Connecticut Contemporary Art Gallerie, Storrs, CT
Incorporate Me, Hessel Museum of Art Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, US

2014

2013

2012

2011

Pier 54, High Line Art, New York, US
New Generation, Frac Nord-Pas de Calais, Dunkirk, FR
Soft Shock, Eli Ping Frances Perkins, New York, US
Moira Dryer Project, Eleven Rivington, New York, US
New Humans, Bureau, New York, US
Roppongi Crossing, Mori Art Center, Tokyo, JP
two-person exhibition with Jimmy Raskin, onestar press, Paris, FR
Paint Things, DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, US
The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, US
Stockholm Music and Arts Festival, curated by Maria Lind, Stockholm, SE
Luce Gallery, Turin, IT
Abstract Possible, Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm, SE
New York: Directions, Points of Interest, Massimo de Carlo, Milan, IT
Temporary Structures: Performing Architecture in Contemporary Art, DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, US
Blur: Art/Design Cross Pollination, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, US
I don’t know if it makes any sense-I feel quite dizzy and a little drunk due to the blow. I will return withmore info shortly…”, IMO Projects, Copenhagen, DK
Summer Whites, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, US
Flags for Venice, Instituto Svizzero di Roma and Swiss Institute, Venice, Venice, IT
Common Love, Aesthetics of Becoming, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Gallery, Columbia University, New
York, US
Calder Foundation Project, New York, US
Transaction Abstraite (two-person exhib. w/ Charles Atlas), New Galerie, Paris, FR
Formalist Sidewalk Poetry Club, Miami, US

2010

Today I Made Nothing, Elizabeth Dee Gallery, NY, US
Wait for Me at the Bottom of the Pool curated by Bob Nickas, Bridgehamptom, New York, US
Mixtapes, Lewis Gluckman Gallery, University College Cork, Cork, IE
Knight’s Move, Sculpture Center, Long Island City, New York, US
Passing Time, 80WSE Gallery NYU, New York, US
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, SE

2009

Second Look (at the Surface), Kuenstlerhaus Bregenz, Bregenz, AT
Blank/Bosluk, Marquise Dance Hall, Istanbul, TR
Learn to Communicate Like a Fucking Normal Person, curated by Jessie Cohan, Art Production Fund,New York, US

2008

Whitney Biennial 2008, New York, US
RISD Museum, Providence, RIPeter Blum Chelsea, New York, US
One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now, Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, US

Piramide Bldg. 4F, 6-6-9 Roppongi Minatoku Tokyo 106-0032 Japan T: +81(0)3-5876-6900 F: +81(0)3-5786-6902 info@taronasugallery.com www.taronasugallery.com

2007

Sympathy for the Devil: Rock and Roll in Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, US
Every Revolution is a Roll of the Dice, Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, US
Stripes, Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY, US
Uncertain States of America, Herning Museum, Copenhagen, DK
Uncertain States of America, Center for Contemporary Art Warsaw, Warsaw, PL

2006

Bunch, Alliance and Dissolve, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, US
One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now, Blaffer Art Gallery, Houston, US
Uncertain States of America, Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, IS
Music is a Better Noise, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York, US
PICA Time-Based Art Fest, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, US
One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now, Asia Society, New York, US
Uncertain States of America, Serpentine Gallery, London, UK
Uncertain States of America, Bard Center for Curatorial Studies, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, US
Yankee Doodle Flea Market, United Bamboo, Tokyo, JP
video program Asian Contemporary Art Week, M.Y. Art Prospects, New York, USInterface in Your Face by Fia Backstrom, Swiss Institute Contemporary Art, New York, US

2005

Video in Person, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, US
Uncertain States of America curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Daniel Birnbaum, Astrup FearnleyMuseum, Oslo, NO
Musica Video Musica curated by Bob Nickas, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid,
Spain
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York, US
Grass Grows Forever in Every Possible Direciton, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, US
Echoplex curated by Gabrielle Giattino, Swiss Institute Contemporary Art, New York, US
Recess: Images and Objects in Formalism, Rush Arts, New York, US
ICA London, Castlefield Gallery at the King’s Arms Salford, Phoenix Arts Leicester, FACT Liverpool,
March Side Cinema Newcastle upon Tyne, Outpost Norwich, Spike Island Bristol, Vivid Birmingham,
Tonight we are Goldentouring video exhibition, UK

2004

Solo Project video installation, United Bamboo Daikanyama, Tokyo, JP
Project Space, Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, New York, US
New Humans perform: Grass grows forever in every possible direction featuring design collaboration
with United Bamboo, Swiss Institute Contemporary Art, New York, US
I’d rather jack traveling show, Prenelle Gallery, London, UK
I’d rather jack, S1 Artspace, Sheffield, UK
Art in the Office, Global Consulting Group, New York, US

2003

Container Exhibition, Tokyo Design Week, Tokyo, JP
Club in the Shadow, Kenny Schacter Gallery, New York, US
Surface Tension, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, US
New Humans Collective presented by Sherman Magazine, Maccarone, Inc., New York, US
25 Hrs, The Video Art Foundation, Barcelona, ES
New Humans Collective invited to perform in Olav Westphalen’sBlimp Derby opening, Sculpture
Center,
LIC, New
York,
US
Stray
Art Fair,
Chicago,US2002

Get Out, Paley Gallery at Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, US
Comfort Zone, Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, US
Mondo Cane, Neiman Gallery, New York, US
2001
2000

Changes, Jeffrey, curated by Paul Ha, New York, US

1998

Rrose Selavy, Jefferson Bank Gallery, Philadelphia, US
Works in Progress: 8 Artists, Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, US

1997

I Enjoy Being a Girl: Investigating Femininity in Women and Men, Nexus: Center for Today’s Art,
Philadelphia, US
Four, Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford, US

Foreign Body, White Columns, New York, US
Decorate Seriously, Borowsky Gallery, Philadelphia, US
My Imaginary Friends, Parlour Projects, Brooklyn, US
A Complement to Love, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, US

Collaborative Exhibitions
2013
2011

Book Machine, Paris with One Star Press, Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR
The Pedestrians with Charles Atlas and New Humans, South London Gallery, London, UK

Piramide Bldg. 4F, 6-6-9 Roppongi Minatoku Tokyo 106-0032 Japan T: +81(0)3-5876-6900 F: +81(0)3-5786-6902 info@taronasugallery.com www.taronasugallery.com

2009
2008

Today is Not a Dress Rehearsal with Charles Atlas and New Humans, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USwith New Humans, Artissima 2008, Turin, IT

Selected Bibliography

2021

Wong, Pamela, “Up Close: Mika Tajima,” Art Asia Pacific 123, May/June 2021.
Cuguoğlu, Naz, “Remembering Our Physicality: An Interview with Mika Tajima,” Borusan
Contemporary Blog, February 9, 2021.

2020

Japan Society, “Spotlight: Mika Tajima,” recorded June 2020 via Zoom, Brooklyn, NY, 9:33.

2019

Huyghe, Pierre. Okayama Art Summit 2019: IF THE SNAKE, Bijitsu Shuppan-Sha Co., Ltd., 2019. Exhibition catalogue.

2018

Tain, John. Mika Tajima. Artists and Their Books/ Books and Their Artists, Getty Research Institute, 2018. Exhibition catalogue.
Norton, Margot.” Mika Tajima: Æther.” Borusan Contemporary, 2018. Exhibition text.

2017

2016

Burak, Tapan.” “ESİR” TEKNOLOJİNİN İNSANLARI.” Sanatatak, March 2018.
Sanchez-Kozyreva, Cristina. “ Critic’s Picks: Mika Tajima, ‘TOUCHLESS’.” Artforum, October, 2017.
Harry, Thorne. “ Critic’s Guide: Warsaw: Mika Tajima “Mika Tajima, ‘AIR’.” Frieze, September, 2017.
Bartle, Jodi Space Invader: Mika Tajima interview. i-D, April 2017.
Li, Jennifer S. Mika Tajima & Jean-Pascal Flavien review. ArtAsiaPacific, Nov/Dec 2016.
Shea, Honora. Mika Tajima & Jean-Pascal Flavien review. Wallpaper, Sept 2016.
Goings on About Town: Meridian (Gold). New Yorker, July 2016.
McDermott, Emily. Mika Tajima’s Intangible Tangibility. Interview Magazine, June 2016.
Budds, Diana Vaping Makes Its Way Into Public Art. CO.DESIGN, June 2016.
Akkermans, Ari. A Luminescent Installation Responds to Twitter Users’ Mood Swings. Hyperallergic, June 2016.
Smith, William S. Ambient Aesthetics. Art in America, June 2016.
Smigiel, Frank. Mika Tajima. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: Views on the Collection, 2016.
Cohn, Don J. Profile: Mika Tajima. ArtAsiaPacific, May/June 2016.
Larmon, Annie Godfrey. Mika Tajima “Embody”. Artforum, April 2016.
Vogel, Wendy. “ Critic’s Pick: Mika Tajima “Embody”.” Artforum, February 2016.
Zion, Amy. “ Critic’s Guide New York: Mika Tajima “Embody.” Frieze, March 2016.

2015

Tan, Lumi “Real Time, Screen Time”.
Abstract Video: The Moving Image in Contemporary Art. University of California Press. 2015.
Hudson, Suzanne. “Painting Now.” Catalogue, Thames & Hudson, Mar. 10, 2015.

2014

Lyons, Matthew. “Total Body Conditioning.” catalogue, Black Dog Publishing.
Estefan, Kareem. “ Mika Tajima.” Bomb, Summer 2014.
“Critics’ Picks: Mika Tajima,” Time Out New York, Mar 27-Apr 2.
Halle, Howard, “Mika Tajima, ‘Negative Entropy,’” Time Out New York, Mar. 27-Apri. 2.
Wallace, Ian. “ Artist Mika Tajima on Shaping the Human Body Through Sculpture.” Artspace, June 3,
2014. Interview.
Smith, Roberta. “ Mika Tajima: ‘Negative Entropy’.” New York Times, March 27, 2014.

2013

Kataoka, Mami, et al. “In Search of Something Fundamental-Beyond Complexity, Contradiction, andAmbiguity.” Out of Doubt: Roppongi Crossing, Mori Art Museum, 2014. Exhibition text.

2012“Mika Tajima Face A Maurizio Cattelan.” L’Officiel Art, Issue 6 / Fall-Winter 2012. Interview.
“Mika Tajima, Interview.” Laura, Issue #8, 2012.
“Dress Rehearsal: Interview with Mika Tajima.” Interview with Patricia Maloney. Art Practical,
3/20/2012
Graves, Jen. “All the Trappings.” the Stranger, May 2012.
Herrara, Natalia Sanchez. “Mika Tajima.” Exclama n. 15, Apr. 2012.

Piramide Bldg. 4F, 6-6-9 Roppongi Minatoku Tokyo 106-0032 Japan T: +81(0)3-5876-6900 F: +81(0)3-5786-6902 info@taronasugallery.com www.taronasugallery.com

2011

Deitsch, Dina. “Mika Tajima.” Performing Structures, 2011. Exhibition text
Wisniewsk, Lara. “Mika Tajima.” Frieze, Nov-Dec. 2011.
Kunimatsu, Susan. “After the Martini Shot: Mika Tajima at SAM.” International Examiner, Oct. 2011.
Campbell, Andy. “500 Words: Mika Tajima Talks about her Latest Show”, Artforum.com, Sept. 2011.
Graves, Jen. “After the Boom,” The Stranger. Oct. 11, 2011.
Kay, Dawn. “Mika Tajima,” Tribeza. Sept., 2011.
Herrera, Lydia. “Mika Tajima’s exhibit ‘opens up possibilities’”, The Daily Texan. Sept. 7, 2011.
Graupman, Michael. “Slackers, Queers and Aliens: Four new exhibitions at the UT Visual Arts Center,”
Culture Map Austin. Sept. 2011
Strickland, Megan. “Richard Linklater inspired by slackers,” The Daily Texan, Sept. 14, 2011
Geha, Katie. “Interview: Mika Tajima.” www.fluentcollab.org, Oct. 2011
Freehill, Lynn. “’Slacker’ Meets Painting in Visual Arts Center’s New Exhibits”, Alcalde. Sept, 2011.
Hudson, Suzanne. “1000 Words: Charles Atlas and Mika Tajima”, Artforum, May, 2011
Kley, Elisabeth. “Mika Tajima,” ArtNews, April 2011
Hansen, Rikke, “The Pedestrians,” Art Monthly, May 2011
Chappa, Kristen, “Fire with Fire,” Common Love, Aesthetics of Becoming, 2011
Toal, Drew, "Mika Tajima," Time Out New York, January 20-26, 2010
2010

2009

2008

Griffin, Tim. “Today I Made Nothing.” Artforum Dec. 2010
Maerkle, Andrew, “Alienation Through Beautification, Engagement After Alienation,” Art iT, Sep.
2008
Meade, Fionn. “Knight’s Move”. Sculpture Center, 2010
Alemani, Cecilia. “The X Initiative Yearbook.” Mouse Publishing, 2010
Chamberlain, Colby. “Today I Made Nothing”. Artforum.com, Aug. 2010
“Knight’s Move.” The New Yorker, June, 12, 2010.
“Mika Tajima: The Double.” http://www.revistaexclama.com/edicion/9nueve/galeria17.php
Austin, Tom. “Mika’s World”. Miami Herald, Apr. 4, 2010.
“Deal or No Deal: Mika Tajima,” One Star Press, 2009
Ellegood, Anne, et al. “Vitamin 3-D: New Perspectives in Sculpture and Installation.” Phaidon Press
Unlimited, 2009.
“Nasce la X Foundation a New York”. Domus Web. Mar. 15, 2009http://www.domusweb.it/upd_Art/article.cfm?idtipo=3&id=275
Moss, Ceci. “Breaking Things to Make Things: An Interview with Mika Tajima.” Mar. 6, 2009http://rhizome.org/editorial/2415
Coggins,
David. “XGary.
Marks“Production
the Spot”. Mar.
7, 2009.
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/blogs/art/2009Carrion-Murayari,
Anxiety”,
Domus
Magazine, issue 915, June 2008.
03-07/x-marks-the-new-spot/
Everrtt Howe, David. “Mika Tajima: The Double”. Art Review, issue 23, June 2008.
Momin, Shamim and Huldisch, Henriette, “Whitney Biennial 2008”, Yale University Press.
Currie, Nick. “Partition: The Spatial Logic of New Humans.” http://imomus.livejournal.com/372222.html.
May 6, 2008.
Hnilicka, Jeff. “Mika Tajima/New Humans.” http://blogs.walkerart.org/performingarts/2008/04/28/mikatajimanew-humans/. May 28, 2008.
Kley, Elisabeth. “Gotham Art and Theater.” www.artnet.com . Apr. 18, 2008,

2007
Molon, Dominic, “Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967”, Yale University Press.
Vogel, Carol. “Whitney Biennial Stretches to Armory.” New York Times, Nov. 16, 2007.
Egan, Maura. “Performance Upstart.” New York Times T Magazine, Dec. 2007
Stone Sonnenborn, Katie. “New Humans.” Frieze Magazine, June 2007.
Ventur, Conrad. “New Humans.” Useless Magazine, issue #5, Spring 2007.
Smith, Roberta. “Dissociate.” New York Times, March 30, 2007.
Goldstein, Richard. “Maximum Capacity.” http://whitehotmagazine.com Apr. 2007.
2006

Smith, Roberta. “Menace, Glitter and Rock in Visions of Dystopia.” New York Times, Dec. 29, 2006.
Sennert, Kate. “The Art of Noise,” V Magazine, vol. 43, Fall 2006.
Smith, Roberta. “A Melange of Asian Roots and Shifting Identites,” New York Times, Sept. 8, 2006.
Shearer, Linda, et al. “Bunch Alliance and Dissolve”, Public-Holiday Projects with Contemporary Art
Center Cincinnati.
Smith, Roberta. “Endgame Rules: Borrow, Sample, Multiply, Repeat,” New York Times, July 7, 2006.
Morton, Tom. “Uncertain States of America,” Frieze, March 2006.

Piramide Bldg. 4F, 6-6-9 Roppongi Minatoku Tokyo 106-0032 Japan T: +81(0)3-5876-6900 F: +81(0)3-5786-6902 info@taronasugallery.com www.taronasugallery.com

2005

Ridge, Tom. “New Humans (review),” Wire, 9/2005
Kvaran, Gunnar. “Uncertain States of America: American Art in the 3rd Millennium”, Astrup FearnleyMuseet.
Baumes,Ben. “New Humans (review).” Repellentzine, June, 21, 2005
“The Museum as Amplifier.” Domus, issue 881, May 5, 2005
Giattino, Gabrielle.”Ones to Watch: New Humans.” Artkrush,Issue #04

2004

http://dks.thing.net/ Nov. 4, 2004
Armetta, Amoreen. “Along for the ride,” Time Out New York, March 11-18.
Velez, Pedro. “Art Fair Future,” www,artnet.com 12/23/02

2003
2002

2000

1998
1997

Sculpture Magazine. “Comfort Zone,” April, 2002.
Sozanski, Edward. “Art in the Bag,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, March, 1, 2002.
Philadelphia Weekly, “Safety Pants,” Feb. 20, 2002.
Architecture, March, 2002.
Fallon, Roberta. “Zone-ing Out,” Philadelphia Weekly, Apr. 10, 2002.
Foreign Body,” Time Out New York, Nov. 9, 2000.
Sozanski, Edward. “The Art of Decoration,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 2000.
R.F. “Department of the Interior,” The Philadelphia Weekly, Oct. 4, 2000.
Rice, Robin. City Paper (Dec.)
Osbourne, Judith. “Women, Men Explore Issues of Femininity.” Art Matters (Dec.)

Awards
2019
2017
2015
2012
2005
2004
2002
2001
1997

Grants of Foundation for Contemporary Arts
New York Artadia Award
BMW Art Journey Prize, finalist
Pollock Krasner Foundation Award
Nominee for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Initiative Program
Artists Space Independent Project Grant
World Studio Foundation Scholarship
World Studio Foundation Scholarship
Barbara Rubin Prize

Collections
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
CCS Bard, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
FRAC Nord Pas de Calais, Dunkerque, France
Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.
RISD Museum, Providence, RI
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library, Williamstown, MA
The New York Public Library Collection, New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
Yale University, Sterling Library, New Haven, CT

Piramide Bldg. 4F, 6-6-9 Roppongi Minatoku Tokyo 106-0032 Japan T: +81(0)3-5876-6900 F: +81(0)3-5786-6902 info@taronasugallery.com www.taronasugallery.com