From capturing environments, architectural structures, sound, light, and human behavior, the sources of Tetsuya Umeda’s work vary widely. Umeda models installations and objects out of daily products and engages viewers with his interactive performance pieces. In Sonic Shaman, Umeda will make a cylindrical sound sculpture from ordinary objects like tins, nets, stove, and rice. The sculpture’s unexpected sounds and simple processes are influenced by the idea of “Narikama”, an ancient Japanese ritual performed for 500 years.
Umeda Tetsuya produces installations that are inspired by and incorporate existing elements found in the environment and circumstances surrounding the exhibition space including its architectural structure. In addition to exhibitions in museums and art institutions, he has produced numerous site-specific works based on the context of both urban spaces and the natural environment. Performance works are presented in Japan and abroad, such as tours inviting the audience to unfamiliar places, stage works focusing on functions found in theaters, and chorus projects without a center point. He is also internationally renowned as a leading artist in the field of sound art. His solo exhibitions are wait this is my favorite part (The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan, 2023-2024) and Tetsuya Umeda in BEPPU “0 Tai” (Oita, Japan, 2020-2021). Also, he has taken part in numerous international exhibitions including Oku-Noto Triennale (Suzu, Japan, 2023), REBORN ART FESTIVAL (Ishinomaki, Japan, 2019 and 2021-2022), Saitama Triennale 2020 (Saitama, Japan) and Taiwan East Coast Land Arts Festival 2018 (Dulan, Taiwan).