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Artist

Saburo MURAOKA

KENJI TAKI GALLERY

(1928 – 2013)

Biography

  • 1928 Born in Osaka, Japan
  • 1950 Completed the Sculpture Program at the Osaka Municipal Art Institute
  • 1965 Participated in the 1st Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Sculpture; received the Mr. K Prize (also received in 1971)
  • 1969 Received the Grand Prize at the 3rd Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Sculpture
  • 1981 Appointed Professor in the Faculty of Education at Shiga University (retired in 1993)
  • 1987
    • Permanently installed the outdoor sculpture Iron Tomb at the Higashida Blast Furnace Memorial Square (Kitakyushu) on the occasion of the “International Iron and Steel Sculpture Symposium – YAHATA ’87”
    • Held the retrospective exhibition “Saburo Muraoka 1970–1986” at the Osaka Contemporary Art Center
  • 1990 Represented the Japan Pavilion at the 44th Venice Biennale alongside Toshikatsu Endo
  • 1993 Appointed Professor at Kyoto Seika University
  • 1994 OXYGEN permanently installed at the Museum of Modern Art, Shiga
  • 1997 Held the retrospective exhibition “Saburo Muraoka: Sculpture of Heat – In Search of the Roots of Matter and Life” at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
  • 1999 Received the 40th Mainichi Art Award
  • 2004 Held the solo exhibition “Saburo Muraoka: Pulsing Matter” (Form in Art series) at the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe
  • 2013 Passed away due to pneumonia in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
Work Desk - 作業台　2000 "WORK DESK" 2000 steel, glass, sulfur,heat,oxygen cylinder, etc.
Saburo Muraoka in his studio.
Photo by Hiroshi Narita.

“My death would be accidental and others’ death would only be infinitely sad.”

(From Saburo Muraoka: OXYGEN, published by Kenji Taki Gallery, 1994, p. 84)

Biography

Selected Solo Exhibitions

1969–1989

  • Shinano-bashi Gallery, Osaka:
    • Sand / To Store (1972)
    • Saburo Muraoka: Memory of Twenty Years (1973)
    • Saburo Muraoka Exhibition (1974)
    • Thanatos (1976)
    • Hovering (1977)
    • Waterway (1981)
    • Fusing 1380°C × 6000 (1983)
    • Firebed (Fudo) (1986)
    • 10 Oxygen Tubes (1989)
  • Akiyama Gallery, Tokyo:
    • Sand (1972)
    • Saburo Muraoka Exhibition (1988)
  • Gallery 16, Kyoto:
    • Saburo Muraoka Exhibition (1974)
    • Works: 1952–1978 (1978)
    • Flat Machine (1981)
    • Distilled Water (1983)
    • Oxygen (1985)
  • Other Galleries:
    • 1972 “Closed Loop,” Solid Gallery Iteza, Kyoto
    • 1975 “Observation Value,” Gallery 16 +one, Kyoto / Muramatsu Gallery, Tokyo
    • 1975 “Thanatos,” Maki Gallery, Tokyo
    • 1976 “Navigator,” Gallery 16 +one, Kyoto
    • 1979 “Saburo Muraoka Exhibition,” Gallery Te, Tokyo
    • 1979 “Interior,” Galerie Kita-no-Circus, Kobe
    • 1984 “Heat,” Gallery Te, Tokyo
    • 1986 “Saburo Muraoka Exhibition,” Gallery K&M, Gifu
    • 1987 “Iron Book,” Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo
    • 1987 “Saburo Muraoka: 1970–1986,” Osaka Contemporary Art Center, Osaka
    • 1988 “Tool,” Concept Space, Shibukawa, Gunma
    • 1989 “Oxygen,” Okazaki Tamako Gallery, Tokyo / Naruse Murata Gallery, Tokyo

1990–1999

  • Akiyama Gallery, Tokyo:
    • Vibration—Memory / The Left Wall—2000 × 6000 × 400°C (1992)
    • Salt—Execution (1994)
  • Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya:
    • “The Salt: Left Hand on the Carotid Artery” (1994)
    • “Sculptures 1952–1986” (1995)
    • “Iron Corner—Burnt Vocal Cords” (1995)
    • “White Iron—A Donkey Shall Die” (1996)
    • “Transmitted Heat (Body Temperature)” (1997)
    • “Memory: Kamimu Asuka” (1998)
  • Kenji Taki Gallery, Tokyo:
    • “Element: Salt / Wax” (1999)
    • “Saburo Muraoka New Works” (1999)
  • Other Galleries:
    • 1990 “Entrance,” Gallery 16, Kyoto
    • 1991 “Oxygen on the Desk,” Okazaki Tamako Gallery, Tokyo
    • 1991 “1 Ton of Heat,” Kasahara Gallery, Osaka
    • 1992 “Vibration—Memory,” Shinano-bashi Gallery, Osaka
    • 1992 “Heat Language: Falling Heat,” Sai Gallery, Osaka
    • 1993 “Fusing: 160ℓ Oxygen,” Stegosaurus Studio, Nagoya
    • 1997 “Saburo Muraoka: Sculpture of Heat – In Search of the Roots of Matter and Life,” The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo / The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
    • 1998 “Iron Water,” Mizu-no-Kuni / MUSEUM 104°C Art Gallery, Shimane

2000–2008

  • Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya:
    • “Work Desk” (2000)
    • “Vibration Rate: Rectangular Parallelepiped” (2001)
    • “Separated Heat” (2002)
    • “Vanishing Body (Rectangular Parallelepiped)” (2003)
    • “Fusing” (2003)
    • “Crust” (2004)
    • “Calorific Value” (2005)
    • “Thanatos” (2005)
    • “Line of Heat” (2006)
    • “Prints + Sculptures” (2007)
  • Kenji Taki Gallery, Tokyo:
    • “Iron Plank” (2000)
    • “SALT BOOK” (2001)
    • “Vanishing Point and Vanishing Line” (2003)
    • “Drawing: Negative (-) Territory” (2004)
    • “Memory <1944-2006>” (2006)
    • “Rectangular Parallelepiped” (2007)
    • “Principle of Heat” (2008)
  • Other Venues:
    • 2002 “Saburo Muraoka Exhibition,” Gallery Fleur, Kyoto Seika University
    • 2004 “Form in Art: Saburo Muraoka—Pulsing Matter,” Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe

2010–2019

  • Kenji Taki Gallery, Tokyo:
    • “Saburo Muraoka Exhibition” (2010)
    • “Fusing” (2014)
    • “Oxygen” (2019)
  • Other Venues:
    • 2012 “Saburo Muraoka Exhibition,” Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya
    • 2013 “In Memory of the Late Professor Saburo Muraoka,” Gallery Fleur, Kyoto Seika University

Selected Group Exhibitions

1950–1968

  • 1950 “The 1st Kansai Comprehensive Art Exhibition,” Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
  • 1950 “The 35th Nika Exhibition,” Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
  • 1957 “Kyoto Independent Exhibition,” Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
  • 1957 “Gathering of Painting, Poetry, Music, and Theatre by Amphitheatre,” Osaka Central Public Hall
  • 1957 “联合展 (Union Group Exhibition),” Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
  • 1964 “Trends in Contemporary Art: Painting and Sculpture,” The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto Annex
  • 1965 “The 1st Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Sculpture,” Ube Open-Air Museum, Yamaguchi (Awarded the Mr. K Prize)
  • 1968 “The 1st Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition,” Suma Rikyu Park, Kobe
  • 1969 “The 3rd Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Sculpture,” Ube Open-Air Museum, Yamaguchi (Awarded the Grand Prize)

1971–1976

  • 1971 “Human Image in the Contemporary World,” The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Kanagawa
  • 1971 “The 4th Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Sculpture,” Ube Open-Air Museum, Yamaguchi (Awarded the Mr. K Prize)
  • 1973 “A Perspective on Two Decades of Contemporary Art,” Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
  • 1973 “The 1st Hakone Open-Air Museum Award Exhibition,” The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Kanagawa
  • 1973 “Asahi Art Now ’73,” Umeda Museum of Modern Art, Osaka
  • 1973 Kyoto Biennale: “Art by Groups,” Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
  • 1976 “Kyoto Biennale ’76,” Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art

1980–1989

  • 1980 “Contemporary Images,” Osaka Contemporary Art Center
  • 1980 “The Scenery of Sham: Contemporary Art and Humor,” National Museum of Art, Osaka
  • 1980 “A Perspective on the 80s,” Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
  • 1981 “Development of Modern Japanese Sculpture,” The Museum of Modern Art, Kanagawa
  • 1981 “Art of Contemporary Japan,” Miyagi Museum of Art
  • 1981 “The 1960s: A Turning Point in Contemporary Art,” The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (Traveled to: The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto)
  • 1983 “An Overview of Contemporary Japanese Art: Three-Dimensional Expressions,” Museum of Modern Art, Toyama
  • 1987 “Shibukawa Contemporary Sculpture Triennale ’87,” Shibukawa Comprehensive Park, Gunma
  • 1987 “International Iron and Steel Sculpture Symposium YAHATA ’87,” Nippon Steel Yawata Works, Kitakyushu
  • 1987 “The 4th Ushimado International Art Festival: Sculpture and Space,” Japan Olive Garden, Ushimado, Okayama
  • 1988 “Olympiad of Art: Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition,” Olympic Park, Seoul, South Korea
  • 1989 “Japan 1989,” Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent (S.M.A.K.), Belgium

1990–1997

  • 1990 “The 44th Venice Biennale,” Giardini di Castello, Venice, Italy
  • 1990 “Stucki 2,” Areal der alten Stuckfärberei, Basel, Switzerland
  • 1990 “Know to Live, Know to Do, Know to Be,” Centre International d’Art Contemporain de Montréal, Canada
  • 1991 Performance: “Extinction of Humanity,” two locations in the Taklamakan Desert, Xinjiang, China
  • 1993 “Invisible Nature,” Royal Garden at Prague Castle, Czech Republic (Traveled to: Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary; Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany)
  • 1994 “Art Facing Death: Memento Mori,” Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, Tokyo (Traveled to: Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts)
  • 1994 “Invisible Nature: Homecoming Exhibition,” Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya
  • 1995 “The Track of Postwar Culture 1945–1995,” Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo (Traveled to: Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art; Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art; Fukuoka Art Museum)
  • 1996 “Between Earth and Sky: Aspects of Contemporary Japanese Art II,” Nagoya City Art Museum (Traveled to: Museo Tamayo, Mexico City)
  • 1997 “The 2nd Gwangju Biennale,” Joenoe Park, Gwangju, South Korea

2001–2018

  • 2001 “Yokohama Triennale 2001: Mega Wave – Towards a New Synthesis,” Pacifico Yokohama, Kanagawa
  • 2002 “Oita Contemporary Art Exhibition 2002: Art Circulation Site,” Oita City Museum of Art and various sites across Oita City
  • 2005 “ABC of Contemporary Art: Art is Next to You,” Fukui City Art Museum
  • 2006 “Duration / Disruption” (Works from the Collection), The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
  • 2007 “Vanishing Point: Contemporary Japanese Art,” National Museum of Modern Art, New Delhi, India, and other venues
  • 2009 “Art Document 2009,” Kanazu Forest of Creation, Awara, Fukui
  • 2010 “Robots and Art: Visual Images of Machine × Body,” Aomori Prefectural Art Museum (Traveled to: Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art; Iwami Art Museum, Shimane)
  • 2010 “Busan Biennale 2010: Living in Evolution,” Busan Museum of Art, South Korea
  • 2011 “This is Not a Book: The Expansion of Book Art,” Urawa Art Museum, Saitama (Traveled to: Fukui City Art Museum)
  • 2014 “Realism by Groping: Toward Saburo Muraoka,” Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi
  • 2018 “Aspirations: Eight Doors,” Gallery Fleur, Kyoto Seika University

2020–Present

  • 2020 “VISION Part 1: About Light / Lighting the Light” (25th Anniversary Collection Exhibition), Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi
  • 2022 “JAPAN. BODY_PERFORM_LIVE,” PAC Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy
  • 2023 “Our Ecology: Toward a Planetary Living – How Can Contemporary Art Face Environmental Crises?” (20th Anniversary Exhibition), Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
  • 2025 “Future / Reminiscence: Chiba City Museum of Art and Contemporary Art” (30th Anniversary Exhibition), Chiba City Museum of Art
  • 2025 “Saburo Muraoka / Isamu Wakabayashi / Noriyuki Haraguchi,” Kenji Taki Gallery, Nagoya
  • 2025 “VISION: Stars and Star Charts | Star Chart II: Alone, and as a Group” (Collection Exhibition), Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi

Main Public Collections

  • The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
  • The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
  • The National Museum of Art, Osaka
  • Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
  • The Museum of Modern Art, Kanagawa
  • Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe
  • Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design
  • The Museum of Modern Art, Shiga
  • Oita Prefectural Art Museum (OPAM)
  • Tottori Prefectural Museum
  • Tokushima Modern Art Museum
  • Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba
  • Urawa Art Museum, Saitama
  • Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi
  • Itami City Museum of Art, History and Culture (Itami Museum), Hyogo
  • Takamatsu Art Museum, Kagawa
  • Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art
  • International Art Center Aomori (ACAC)
  • Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Fukuoka
  • City of Ube, Yamaguchi
  • City of Takarazuka, Hyogo
  • Kyoto Seika University, Kyoto
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