EXPO2025 Keiji Uematsu Exhibition - "Chamber of Curiosities

Artist Keiji Uematsu began his career as an artist in 1969, and in 1975 moved to West Germany, where he has been actively exhibiting his works at museums and galleries throughout Europe. In 1988, he represented Japan at the Japan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. In 1981, he held his first solo exhibition in France at the Baudoin Lebon Gallery in Paris, and has since exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries in France. In 1985, he exhibited at the sculpture exhibition at the Fondation Cartier and his works are collected. In 2024, he held a solo exhibition at the Thomas Coldefy Architecture Studio, the architect who designed the French Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
He currently has a studio in Minoh City, Osaka Prefecture, and continues to work internationally in Japan, Europe, America, and Asia.

This special exhibition at the event hall of the France Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai presents a selection of works from his 50-year career, along with new pieces. It presents an artistic world shaped by the relationship between France and Japan, while also offering a glimpse into unknown worlds of the future.

His work has expressed the structure of the world, such as nature, the earth, and the universe, and our existence and mutual relationships through the production of sculptures, installations, videos, photographs, etc. There is a consistent attempt to perceive the world from the invisible laws of force such as gravity and attraction, and the spiral structure that is contained in everything from life to the universe.
This exhibition will challenge our conventional perceptions, creating an intimate universe where words, thoughts, and vision are intertwined. It will encourage us to discover new meanings in our relationship with the world and guide us into unexplored realms we have never seen or imagined.

"Touch of Spiral - Cosmos/Crystal," a 130m² space, marble crystals, meteorites, and spirals are displayed, and in "Touching the Cosmos - Energy," an installation related to the earth and the universe is presented with the trajectory of energy engraved on a brass plate.
On the walls, there will be a large-format drawing called "With a Branch - Touching Energy" and "Floating Stone - Earthrise".
The video works include French filmmaker Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon (1902), a work in homage to Gaston Bachelard, and the postcard series Floating Stone.

Exhibition information

Venue: Event Hall, 4th Floor, France Pavilion, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai
Period: Friday, July 4 - Sunday, July 6, 2025
Opening hours: 10am - 9pm
Organizers: COFREX (French International Exposition Corporation), Keiji Uematsu Exhibition Executive Committee
Cooperation: Gallery Baudoin Lebon, Paris. Gallery Nomart, Contemporary Art Planning KATOH YOSHIO OFFICE, Yumiko Chiba Associates.
Sponsors: Yasui Architects & Engineers,Inc., Ikuko Co., Ltd., Exhibition Supporters

MAP

EXPO2025 Official Map

The special exhibition and talk event are open to everyone without the need for a reservation.

・Proceed down the alley between the France Pavilion and the American Pavilion on the right (look for the sign). About 10 meters ahead on the left, you will find an elevator that takes you to the 4th-floor venue.

Talk Event

Capacity: 60 people
Registration: 15 minutes before the start of each talk on the day of the talk, first come first served
Note: The exhibition will not be accessible during the 30 minutes before the reception begins and the 30 minutes after the talk ends, due to venue preparations.

Talk-1 "Uematsu Keiji's Microcosm"
Yoshio Kato (art critic, visiting professor at Osaka University of Arts) × Keiji Uematsu
[date and time] 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM on Friday, July 4, 2025 (Reception starts at 5:45 PM)

＊The exhibition will not be accessible between 5:15 PM and 5:45 PM due to venue preparations.

[venue] Exhibition Hall

Talk-2 "On “Hope” in Architecture"
Speaker: Yoshihiko Sano (President of Yasui Architects & Engineers, Inc.)
Interviewer: Keiji Uematsu
[date and time] 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM on Sunday, July 6, 2025 (Reception starts at 4:45 PM)

＊The exhibition will not be accessible between 4:15 PM and 4:45 PM due to venue preparations.

[venue] Exhibition Hall

Sponsors　In no particular order. Titles omitted.