Mori Art Museum to Open Solo Exhibition for Katayama Mari, Inaugural Mori Art Award Grand Prize Winner
The Facts
The Mori Art Museum in Tokyo will present a solo exhibition by Katayama Mari, winner of the first-ever Mori Art Award Grand Prize, from October 31, 2026, to March 28, 2027. The biennial award, established in May 2025 by the Mori Contemporary Art Foundation (MoriCAF), grants ¥10 million to the grand prize winner and ¥1 million each to three finalists. An international jury selected Katayama for her work expanding bodily boundaries through analogue photography and handcraft techniques such as embroidery and needlework. The exhibition will include her ongoing “tree of life” series (2024-), which is now part of the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
The Signal
The Mori Art Award is a new biennial prize targeting mid-career Japanese artists or those with strong ties to Japan, filling a gap in institutional support at this career stage. Katayama’s selection signals a growing recognition of hybrid analogue and craft-based practices in contemporary Japanese art. Her piece’s acquisition by the V&A further underscores her rising international profile. The concurrent “Mori Art Award Finalists Exhibition” at the museum will also feature works by the other three finalists, offering collectors and curators a broader view of emerging talent in the region.
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- Artists: Katayama Mari
- People: Tokuyama Hirokazu
- Galleries: Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve, Paris, Yutaka Kikutake Gallery, Tokyo
- Museums: Mori Art Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum
- Locations: Tokyo
- Prices: ¥10 million, ¥1 million
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