“Aki Sasamoto: Laboratory” Ran at the National Museum of Art, Osaka Until November 3; Four Performances at the End of the Run

The special exhibition “Aki Sasamoto: Laboratory,” a solo exhibition of the artist Aki Sasamoto (born 1980), was held at the National Museum of Art, Osaka (Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka). It ran from Sunday, July 19 to Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (national holiday). A touring exhibition reconfigured from the 2025 exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, with additions such as works from the museum’s collection, it listed 50 entries in its list of works. At the end of the run, from Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 1, the artist herself gave six performances in total.

Who is Aki Sasamoto? A Calder Prize winner who moved from Kanagawa to the UK and the US

Aki Sasamoto was born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1980. As a teenager she went alone to the United Kingdom and later moved to the United States. She studied dance and art at Wesleyan University and received an MFA from Columbia University (New York) in 2007. She currently teaches at the Yale School of Art, where she is Director of Graduate Studies in Sculpture.

She has held solo exhibitions at the SculptureCenter (New York, 2016) and the Queens Museum (New York, 2023–24). In recent years she has also had solo exhibitions at Para Site (Hong Kong, 2024) and Studio Voltaire (London, 2026). She has taken part in international exhibitions including the Yokohama Triennale (2008), the Whitney Biennial (2010), the Gwangju Biennale (2012) and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2016). In 2022 she exhibited at Aichi Triennale and the Venice Biennale, and in 2023 she received the Calder Prize.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo described its exhibition (August 23 – November 24, 2025), on which this one is based, as Sasamoto’s first mid-career survey. The Osaka showing changes part of the exhibition layout and adds works from the collection of the National Museum of Art, Osaka.

Devices as “scores,” works as “events” that change over time

Sasamoto places sculptures and devices she has designed and assembled herself in installation spaces and uses them like scores to develop improvised performances. Her device-like installations, combining threads, tubes, everyday objects, sounds and words, emerge as she moves back and forth between sculptural thinking and physical expression.

Because the artist performs them herself, the works are presented not as finished forms but as “events” that keep changing over time. As the exhibition title “Laboratory” suggests, she places more emphasis on sharing the process of trial and error with the audience than on finished products. Her interests have reportedly expanded from personal memories and everyday habits to, in recent years, the observation of natural phenomena and ecosystems.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo introduced her work as ranging from early representative pieces that pose profound questions while weaving in humorous, confessional narratives to her latest works, in which kinetic elements are stronger. In the Osaka list of works as well, the main devices are labeled “installation/performance,” and areas for performances are set up in the galleries.

What can be seen? From the early “Secrets of My Mother’s Child” to her latest works

The list of works includes 50 entries, among them installations, videos and drawings. The main installations, which also serve as stages for performances, are as follows (materials are partly excerpted from the list of works).

• “Secrets of My Mother’s Child” (2009): metal, a chest of drawers, socks, nuts, a CRT monitor and more. The museum calls it one of the earliest examples of Sasamoto’s performance/installation works

• “Skewed Lies” (2010): aluminum pipes, school desks, a mosquito net, milk crates and more

• “E_O” (2011): wood, aluminum pipes, chain-link fencing, microphones and more. First presented in London in 2011

• “Wrong Happy Hour” (2014): wood, wheels, a door viewer, an espresso machine, a medicine cabinet and more. Unfolds in a space set up like a bar

• “Yield Point” (2017): a dumpster, steel, trampoline mesh, springs and more. In the collection of the National Museum of Art, Osaka

• “Sounding Lines” (2024/2026): wood, cooking utensils, acrylic paint, resin, stainless steel springs, AC motors and more

• “catch or be caught” (2025): steel, stainless steel, torsion springs, motors, carpet, cellophane

Other works include “Society in a Sink #1” (2022), which combines a commercial double sink with blowers, snail shells and more. Four “Shoe Light Box” works (2016) using shoe boxes, LEDs and tissue paper, and a series of five “Sleeping Charisma” works drawn with oil sticks on pillowcases, are also on display.

There are nine videos, including “Film: Wrong Happy Hour” (2015, 32 minutes 22 seconds) and “Film: Squirrel Methods” (2025, 22 minutes 10 seconds). There are also recordings of performances at the Queens Museum, MoMA PS1, the Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art and Para Site.

Performance schedule at the end of the run and numbered tickets

The performances during the run are four works different from those presented at the Tokyo venue, held in the B3F Galleries. Participation is free, but a ticket for the exhibition valid on the day and a numbered ticket are required. Numbered tickets are handed out at the B1F information desk, one per person, from 10:00 on the day for the 14:00 performances and from 13:00 on the day for the 17:30 performances. According to the floor guide, each performance lasts about 30 minutes, and entry to some areas is restricted during performances.

• Friday, October 30: 14:00 “Wrong Happy Hour” (first 30 people) / 17:30 “E_O” (first 40 people)

• Saturday, October 31: 14:00 “Wrong Happy Hour” (first 30 people) / 17:30 “Yield Point” (first 100 people)

• Sunday, November 1: 14:00 “E_O” (first 40 people) / 17:30 “Secrets of My Mother’s Child” (first 100 people)

“Yield Point” is in the museum’s collection, and according to the museum, this will be its first performance since the museum’s 40th anniversary exhibition. Filming for documentation and publicity will take place during the performances, and visitors may appear in the footage. Only those who agree to the filming and the use of photos and videos may participate.

Tickets and prices; free admission days on October 23 and 24

Admission is 1,800 yen for adults and 1,200 yen for university students. Groups of 20 or more and the evening discount on Fridays from 17:00 to 20:00 are 1,600 yen for adults and 1,100 yen for university students. High school students and younger, those under 18, and people with disabilities and one companion are admitted free (proof required). The same ticket also gives access to the collection exhibition in the B2F Galleries, “Pre-50th Anniversary Program, Collection 1: I/Act.” It is the first part of a program in which the museum, which opened in 1977 and marks its 50th anniversary in 2027, looks back at the art movements leading up to its opening through its collection.

Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24 are special free admission days, “Laboratory Special Free Days,” when the exhibition and the collection exhibition can be viewed for free. They were made possible by a personal donation of 15 million yen from Hiroyuki Maki, President and CEO of BUFFALO INC., and are the last two of a total of 16 days held since August.

The audio guide costs 500 yen on the app (available until November 3), and device rental at the venue is also 500 yen. The catalogue “Aki Sasamoto: Laboratory” (torch press) costs 3,000 yen (excluding tax). From December 1, the special exhibition “Stratified Languages” begins in the same B3F Galleries.

Frequently asked questions

Are reservations required?

The museum does not use timed reservations. Tickets can be bought at the museum’s ticket counter or online, at the same price. Tickets can be purchased and entry is possible until 30 minutes before closing. To see a performance, a numbered ticket distributed on the day is also required.

Can I take photos?

According to the floor guide, photography is allowed in the galleries, but video recording is not. Photography during performances is prohibited. Visitors are also asked not to touch the works and to be aware that some works move by motors and springs.

How do I get there?

It is about a 5-minute walk southwest from Exit 2 of Watanabebashi Station on the Keihan Nakanoshima Line. It is about a 10-minute walk west from Exit 3 of Higobashi Station on the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line, and about a 10-minute walk south from Exit 2 of JR Shin-Fukushima Station and Exit 3 of Hanshin Fukushima Station. From in front of JR Osaka Station, take bus route 53 or 75 and get off at “Taminobashi,” about a 3-minute walk away. There is no dedicated parking. Autumn and winter exhibitions in the Kansai region are introduced in [Autumn/Winter 2026] Recommended Exhibitions in Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Hyogo.

Overview

Name: Special Exhibition “Aki Sasamoto: Laboratory”
Dates: Sunday, July 19 – Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (national holiday)
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 2)
Venue: B3F Galleries, National Museum of Art, Osaka
Address: 4-2-55 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka
Admission: Adults 1,800 yen, university students 1,200 yen. Groups of 20 or more and evening discount (Fridays 17:00–20:00): adults 1,600 yen, university students 1,100 yen. High school students and younger, those under 18, and people with disabilities and one companion free (proof required)
Organizer: National Museum of Art, Osaka
Sponsor: Daikin Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Special cooperation: Take Ninagawa
Official website: https://www.nmao.go.jp/events/event/20260719_sasamoto-aki/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: From a press release by the Agency for Cultural Affairs

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the National Museum of Art, Osaka (June 10, 2026) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (November 25, 2024) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team