Born in Japan / Lives and works in New York and Kobe, Japan
Zai Nomura was born and grew up in Kobe-city, west side of Japan, and has been working between Kobe and New York since 2020. Nomura received his Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Musashino University in Tokyo in 2013, and his MFA from Goldsmiths, the University of London in 2009. While living in Hyogo, he experienced the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 and lost family members during the time of disaster. Following this, Nomura began to question his relationship with art and interrogate what he aims to establish and represent in the imagery and function of art. Recent exhibitions include: 333, Japan Society Gallery, New York, NY (2020); Mirror Behind Hole, gallery αM, Tokyo, Japan (2018); can’t rewind it, Soh Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2017, solo); and Aichi International Triennial 2016: Rainbow Caravan, Aichi, Japan (2016). From 2019 through 2021, Nomura received a grant from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and participated in the artist in residency program at ISCP (International Studio and Curatorial Program), Brooklyn, NY.
Education
2010-2013 Ph.D. at Musashino Art University
2007-2009 MFA at Goldsmiths University of London
Residencies and Awards
2024 Shiseido Gallery Art Egg, Tokyo, Japan
2024 TOKAS Open8, Tokyo, Japan
2023 Yaddo Residency, NY, USA
2021 Arte Laguna Prize, Venice, Italy
2019-20 International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP), Brooklyn, NY
2019-20 The Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs Grant, Tokyo, Japan
2016 Lagos Art, Private Artist’s Residency, Hamburg, Germany
2013 MMM First Prize
2005 Musashino Art University, Laboratory Prize
Selected Exhibitions
2025 “Helplessly irreplaceable” at faro works, Tokyo, Japan
2024, “Can’t Remember I Forgot You “at TOKAS as Open 8, Tokyo, Japan
2022 “At six and seven” Ulterior Gallery, NY, USA
2022- Traces of Yours, permanent exhibition, Syodo island, Japan
2022 “Séance Fiction”, NY, USA
2021 “Echoes” Solo exhibition, Ulterior Gallery, , NY, USA
2020 “333”, Japan Society Gallery, NY, USA
2019 “IHI Innovation center”, permanent installation, Yokohama, Japan
2018 “MMM-10th annual exhibition”, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan
2017 “can’t rewind it”, solo exhibition at Soh Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2016 Hamburg Private Residency, Hamburg, Germany
2016 Aichi International Triennale ”Rainbow Caravan”, Okazaki, Japan
2015 “Color (Non-allegiance) Silhouette” at Soh Gallery with Manami Seki and Takahiro Kamimura, Tokyo, Japan
2014 “Accumulation 1”, Solo exhibition at Soh Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2014 “MMM: Minato-Media-Art Museum” at MMM, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan
2014 “Continuous Temporality” Duo exhibition with Takaaki Akaishi at COEXIST-Tokyo gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2014 “Dynamics of expression” Group exhibition at Harmas Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2013 “Taipei Art Fair”, Taipei, Taiwan
2013 “additional fugitive” Solo exhibition at Harmas Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2013 “The Dry Land” Solo exhibition at gFAL, Tokyo, Japan
2012 “Galley x Hikarie” Group exhibition at Shibuya Hikarie 8, Tokyo, Japan
2011 “ULTRA03” Group exhibition at Aoyama Spiral, Tokyo, Japan
2011 “Art Court Frontier 2011” Group exhibition at Art Court Gallery, Osaka, Japan
2010 “Zai Nomura Solo exhibition” at Harmas Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2010 “Beyond the Transform” Solo exhibition at gFAL, Tokyo, Japan
2009 “GROUP/GROPE” Group exhibition at Area 10, London, UK
2007 “10th Istanbul Biennale-MULTIPLE INTIMACY” Group exhibition at Osham Hamdy Bey Hall, Istanbul, Turkey
2007 “The Fall-In-Theatre Interim” Group exhibition at Ashwin Street Gallery, London, UK
2006 “Sevrin Contemporary Art Exhibition” Group exhibition at Sevrin Contemporary Art Museum, Romania
Public Collection
SEASiON, Shodo-island, Kagawa, Japan
RICOH, 3L building, Tokyo, Japan
The Beige, Siem Reap, Cambodia
IHI Innovation Centre, Kanagawa, Japan