Yuko Mohri at Miami Beach: Japanese Artist’s First Solo Exhibition at an American Museum

The Bass museum in Miami Beach opened on 17 September 2026 the exhibition “Unviolated Imperfection” by Japanese artist Yuko Mohri — her first solo presentation at an American museum. The exhibition will remain open until 30 May 2027 and spans three galleries, with three interconnected kinetic installations that translate natural phenomena into sound and light.

The first installation, “Decomposition,” uses South Florida fruits fitted with electrodes that record changes in humidity as the fruits decay. The data is converted into musical tones that evolve over time, accompanied by light on an LED screen. The work connects the Western still-life tradition with Buddhist Kusōzu — the images depicting the stages of bodily decomposition — and draws inspiration from the sounds of the ’70s synth-rock band Suicide.

“Moré Moré (Leaky)” is a new version of the installation Mohri presented at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Water circulates through a network of objects found in Miami second-hand shops; the work is inspired by the improvised solutions citizens use to collect water dripping from ceilings in Tokyo’s subway stations.

The third installation, “Piano Solo,” features a self-playing grand piano, with an LED screen showing ocean views from both shores of Miami Beach — the movement of the waves is turned into musical notes, in a clear nod to composer John Cage’s experiments with chance. The exhibition’s title comes from critic Aaron Betsky’s 1990 book “Violated Perfection.”

Mohri represented Japan at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024; her works are part of the collections of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, M+ in Hong Kong and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. Alongside her exhibition, on 17 September The Bass also opened the exhibition “Amalia Pica: Lecturas Posibles.”

Source: The Bass