Teppei Kaneuji

Teppei Kaneuji (1978, born and based in Kyoto, Japan) uses found images and materials from his surroundings to examine questions of value, accumulation and waste in Japan’s post-war culture of commodification. Through collaging and assemblages, he combines these unrelated objects to form two- and three-dimensional works, injecting them with new visual characteristics to disrupt our immediate perception of them.

In his renowned series White Discharge (2002–ongoing), sculptural forms made from unexpected combinations of objects—toy figurines, traffic cones, plastic food and hangers—are partially coated in white resin, with visible drip lines. Their appearance sits between liquid and solid, drawing viewers into an uncanny visual experience. Over the years, these compositions have ranged from singular wall hangings to fantastical landscapes of monumental scale. In his Ghost Buildings (2016–ongoing) series, Kaneuji reworks leftover outlines of children’s sticker sheets into freestanding folding screens and collage-paintings. This body of work evokes a sense of familiarity, while retaining a sense of elusiveness.

Kaneuji obtained his BFA and MFA in Sculpture from Kyoto City University of the Arts in 2001 and 2003 respectively. His work can be found in major collections including Yokohama Museum of Art; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art; Takamatsu City Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; National Museum of Art, Osaka; Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Toyota Municipal Museum of Art; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; and Kadist Art Foundation, Paris.

Notable recent exhibitions include A Personal View of Japanese Contemporary Art (2024), The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; Collection Highlights + Collection Relations (2023), Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art; Zhang Ding & Teppei Kaneuji (2023), HOW Art Museum, Shanghai; The Cuteness Factor (2023), Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest; S.F. (Something Falling/Floating) (2022), Ichihara Lakeside Museum; En/trance (2020), The Japan Society, New York; Eraser Forest (2020), 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; Traveling with Glasses (2018), Aomori Museum of Art; and Playtime (2018), Peabody Essex Museum, Salem.

The artist has also participated in major international festivals including 6th Yanbaru Art Festival (2023), Okinawa; 5th Setouchi Triennale (2022), Okayama; 2nd Oku-Noto Triennale (2021), Suzu; Restoration of the Sea (2019), 4th Setouchi Triennale, Aichi; 7th Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial (2018), Niigata; 6th OpenART Biennial (2017), Örebro, Sweden; Artist Making Movement (2015), 5th Asian Art Biennial, Taichung; Little Water (2013), 3rd Dojima River Biennale, Osaka; and Open House (2011), 3rd Singapore Biennale.

Kaneuji had his residency at the STPI Workshop in 2013, resulting in the exhibition Endless, Nameless (Constructions) (2014).