Kei Ito
Themes and inspiration. Ito’s work addresses issues of deep intergenerational loss and connections as he explores the materiality and experimental processes of photography, visualizing the invisible: radiation, memory and life/death. Ito’s work, fundamentally rooted in the trauma and legacy passed down from his late grandfather - a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, meditates on the complexity of his identity and heritage through examining the past and current threats of nuclear disaster and his present status as an US-immigrant. Many of Ito’s artworks transformed both art and non-art spaces into temporal monuments  that became platforms for the audience to explore social issues and the memorials dedicated to the losses suffered from the consequences of those issues. Exhibitions. Ito has shown in over 50 exhibitions worldwide. Among those are solo exhibitions at prominent spaces such as Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art Museum, Winston-Salem, NC; Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA; IA&A at Hillyer (Hillyer Art Space), DC; and Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH. Group exhibitions of note include: the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL; Ethan Cohen KuBe, NY; the Walters Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago , IL; California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA; and PH21 Gallery in Budapest, Hungary. 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 Residencies. 2021 2020 2019 Awards. 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016