Artist Biography
Yuken Teruya (b. 1973, Okinawa, Japan, based in New York, United States and Berlin, Germany) draws on his Okinawan background to explore themes of ecology, consumerism and structures of power. Creating intricate sculptures and installations using everyday materials, the artist invites viewers to consider their relationship with the environment and the wider forces shaping the contemporary culture of consumption.
Teruya’s early works were shaped by his childhood spent in 1970s Okinawa, when the island reverted to Japanese control after 27 years of American administration—several of which faced censorship due to his critique of Okinawa’s invasion. After moving abroad for his studies, Teruya experienced a significant freedom of expression in engaging with sociopolitical subjects. In You-I (2002), Teruya redesigned patterns on Okinawa’s bingata kimono—dyed using traditional stencil techniques—to intersperse motifs of American paratroopers and fighter jets amid indigenous flora and fauna. This jarring combination speaks to the complexities and tensions that characterise the island's volatile political legacy.
Teruya obtained his BFA from Tama Art University, Tokyo in 1996 and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York in 2001. His work is held in major collections including 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Mori Museum, Tokyo; Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin; Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum; Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C; Seattle Art Museum; and Takamatsu City Museum of Art.
Notable exhibitions include Okinawa Heavy Pop (2023), Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Naha; Japan (2023), Victoria & Albert Museum, London; KATAZOME TODAY (2023), Whatcom Museum, Bellingham; Sea Lane (2022), 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; Wing of Fabric (2022), Museé de Somé Seiryu, Kyoto; REFLECTIONS (2022), Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Naha; Japanext (2017), Centre Pompidou-Metz; Mot Collection (2016): Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; and Sugar Spin (2016), Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane. The artist has also participated in major international festivals including Symphony of All the Changes (2023), 7th Guangzhou Triennial; Escape Routes (2020), 2nd Bangkok Art Biennale; Art in an Age of Historical Ambivalence (2018), 12th Shanghai Biennale; Clouds⇄Forests (2017), 7th Moscow Biennale; All Our Relations (2012): 18th Biennale of Sydney; Rewriting Worlds (2011), 4th Moscow Biennale; 12th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh (2006), Dhaka; APT5 (2006),5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane; Art Circus (2005), 2nd Yokohama Triennale.
Teruya had his residency at the STPI Workshop in 2006, resulting in Asia Society Portfolio (2006)—a set of ten prints by leading Asian artists to mark both a decade of the Asian Society’s exhibition and artist commission programme, and the fiftieth anniversary of the Society’s founding.