Artist Biography
MUGA is a visual artist lives and works in Aichi, Japan. Once a professional snowboarder, fashion buyer and antique dealer, from 2018 he studied fine art photography at Chojamachi School of Arts under Ko Yamada for four years, he now directs and manages three companies. MUGA focuses on using photography as his primary creative medium.
MUGA’s work wishes to guide the audience for an internal dialogue about fabricated facts. The artist was named after a Buddhism concept of selfless or enlightenment — ‘Muga’, whilst being influenced by an Eastern philosophy: “Mui Shizen” originated from Taoism, which broadly talks about an lifestyle or mindset without intervention and intention. The artist reinterprets these ancient ideals in a modern way, through his own lens, the artist creates his work encompassing the dualism of humour and fetish. MUGA intends to convey a metaphorical worldview that allows an open yet complicated relationship with conceptions and perceptions.
In 2019, MUGA published "The window" as an inside himself approach. He made his artist debut at the group exhibition "A double helix of Kinsey" held at the Natural History Museum in the city Graz, Austria. In 2020, he published "Just a thin paper" as a way of approaching fiction, people's perception. Then he won third place in the IPA photography award "Abstract" category of the international photography festival. After then, He has opened his first solo exhibition "The Color of My Maze" in 2021, And in 2022 opening exhibition "d ●●● p ▲▲ i ■■■" of new contemporary art gallery Coco gallery Kyoto. In 2023, he was invited as the main artist at the international photography festival FOTORAMA and opened a solo exhibition at the National Museum of Art in Kragujevac, Serbia.
MUGAは日本、愛知県在住。 プロスノーボーダー / ファッションバイヤー / 骨董商としての経歴を持ち、2018年から4年間、⻑者町スクールオブアーツ、Ko Yamadaの元で芸術写真を学ぶ。 現在は3つの会社の代表を務めるとともに、写真を主なミディアムとした現代アーティストとして活動。
MUGA のメインテーマは人間が創り出す「虚構」。彼は東洋哲学の道教「無為自然」や自身の名であり、仏教における悟り「無我」を軸に、それらを自身の立場、経験を通して現代的に解釈し、ユーモラスかつフェティッシュに、作品に落とし込みます。 そして彼は作品を通し、人々の認識や固定観念に対しに問いを投じつづけています。
2019年、MUGAは自身の内側へのアプローチとして「窓」を発表。同年オーストリア・Grazで開催されたDesignmonat Grazに参加。同市の自然史美術館にて開かれたグループ展"A double helix of Kinsey"にてアーティストデビュー。2020年には写真、平面芸術に対する人々の認識、虚構へのアプローチとして「Just a thin paper」を発表し国際的な写真の祭典IPA photography award「Abstract」部門にて3位を獲得。2021年には初個展 "The Color of My Maze"を皮切りに、2022年はCOCO gallery Kyoto でのこけら落とし個展 "d●●●p▲▲i■■■" 。2023年には国際写真の祭典FOTORAMAにてメインアーティストとして招待されセルビアのクラグイエバツ国立美術館で個展を開くなど精力的に活動している。
Exhibitions
Group
2019
Designmonat Graz
Exhibition "A double helix of Kinsey"
（ UNESCO City of Design / Natural History Museum Joanneumsviertel / Graz / Austria )
2020
Exhibition "Ground / home"
( Gallery Menio / Nagoya / Japan)
Exhibition " Ground / home"
( FOTORAMA X / The Vuk Karadžić National Library / Kragujevac /Serbia)
2022
Exhibition "FOUR PLANES"
( De merkenwinkel / Amsterdam / Netherlands)
( De merkenwinkel / Amsterdam / Netherlands)
2023
2 person exhibition
( Gallery 9 / Amsterdam / Netherlands)
Solo
2021
Exhibition "The Color of My Maze"
( MOGANA / Kyoto / Japan )
2022
Exhibition "d●●●p▲▲i■■■"
( COCO gallery / Kyoto / Japan )
2023
Exhibition "Just a Thin Paper"
( Kragujevac National Museum/ Kragujevac / Serbia )
Exhibition "Just a Thin Truth"
( Miaki Gallery / Tokyo / Japan )
Fair
2023
Unseen / Amsterdam / Netherlands
2024
KunstRAI / Amsterdam / Netherlands
Art Central / Hong Kong
Awards
2019
IPA Photography award 2019
Honorable Mention , FineArt , Collage
Honorable Mention , FineArt , Other
2020
IPA Photography award 2020
3rd Place , FineArt , Abstract
Gallery
Miaki Gallery
(Tokyo / Japan)
https://miakigallery.jp
Gallery 9
(Amsterdam / Netherlands)
http://www.gallerynine.nl/gallery/Exhibitions_ENG.html
Part2Gallery
(Düsseldorf / Germany)
https://www.part2gallery.de