Fujiko Nakaya

Born in Sapporo in 1933. Known around the world as the “fog artist.” After graduating from the Department of Fine Arts at Northwestern University in the United States and creating some early paintings, she joined the “E.A.T.” arts and technology experimental group formed by Robert Rauschenberg. As part of those activities, she presented her “Fog Sculpture” created through artificial fog for the first time in 1970 at the Osaka Expo Pepsi Museum.

The artificial fog generated using pure water by the high-pressure pump and the independently-developed set of fine particle nozzles can sense the weather environment in a location, and resonate with both the wind and the air. Her interest in the environment was greatly influenced by the father of experimental physics, Ukichiro Nakaya (1900-1962), who led the worldwide field of glaciology.

In the 1970s, she led Media Art in Japan. Creating works of video art that looked at society with a keen eye and promoting exchanges with foreign artists, she founded “Video Gallery SCAN” in Tokyo’s Harajuku in 1980. She made intense efforts to discover and support young Japanese videographers. There are more than 80 of her fog pieces around the world.

Major works
・”Foggy Forest“Children’s Park, Showa Memorial Park, Tachikawa (Tokyo)
・”F.O.G.” Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Spain)
・”London Fog” Tate Modern London (United Kingdom)　etc.