Yasumasa Morimura. One Artist’s Theater : Personal Exhibition

Morimura first gained international attention with a series of self-portraits that both honored and subverted canonical Western artworks. Reimagining figures from Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Goya, Van Gogh, and Frida Kahlo, he inserted his own image into iconic compositions to question inherited art historical narratives. His reinterpretations of pop culture icons—Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, Liza Minnelli, Greta Garbo—transcend mimicry. These theatrical restagings shift the meaning of familiar images, encouraging viewers to reconsider their assumptions about beauty, fame, and cultural icons.

Central to his practice is a labor-intensive, theatrical process unfolding in multiple stages. Each work begins with a meticulously constructed set—often sculptural or painted—to recreate the texture and mood of the original. Morimura then undergoes a detailed process of physical transformation using elaborate costumes, makeup, and gesture to embody the subject. The final scene is captured photographically and refined digitally, resulting in a hybrid form that fuses elements of sculpture, painting, theater, and photography into a cohesive visual statement.

A featured series in this exhibition, Inner Dialogue with Frida Kahlo, presents Morimura inhabiting the persona of the iconic Mexican artist through elaborate costuming and performative staging. These works are not simple homages, but speculative portraits that blur the lines between admiration, projection, and reinvention—constructing a fictionalized Frida shaped by his imagination.