Takeshi Moro was born in Japan, raised in the U.K. and currently works in the San Francisco Bay Area. Moro studied photography at Rhode Island School of Design and holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from Brown University. He completed his M.F.A. graduate studies at School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Moro’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and Serlachius Museot, Finland. His work resides in the permanent collection at Museum of Contemporary Photography, as well as in various private collections.

Artist Statement

A kaleidoscope of angst, remorse, and British sarcasm fill my viewfinder. It’s colored mostly by my experiences of growing up in Plymouth, U.K., and trying to cope with a schizophrenic love-hate relationship with Japan. This all started when my mother bought me a toy camera that imprinted a Japanese cartoon character to every frame on the film. The Japanese character, woven into the English landscapes, must have affected how I see the world today. I’ve used and will use all kinds of cameras from film to digital —but technology aside— I have always been guided by my urge to see a cultural narrative through the viewfinder; whether that be Afghan asylum seekers in rural Finnish villages or an office used by an American President in Germany to decide the fate of post war Japan.

Education

2001

Brown University, Economics & Visual Arts with Honors, BA

2008

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MFA

Solo Exhibitions

2024*

Shionoe Art Museum, Takamatsu, Japan

2023

The National Japanese American Historical Society,
Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center, San Francisco, CA

2022

Serlachius Residency, Mänttä-Vilppula, Finland

2021

Valokuvakeskus Nykyaika / Photographic Centre Nykyaika, Tampere, Finland,

2018

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA

2016

Gallery 100%, San Francisco, CA

2016

Galerie Possum, Berlin, Germany

2016

Büro für kulturelle Übersetzungen, Leipzig, Germany

2015

City of Takamatsu, Artist-in-Residence Exhibition, Japan

2015

Serlachius Residency, Karaoke Mänttä, Finland

2015

AC Institute, NY, NY

2014

Kunstraum Tapir, Berlin, Germany

2013

Serlachius Museot Gustav, Mänttä, Finland

2013

Gallery AŽ, Zagreb, Croatia

2012

Skaftfell Center for Visual Art, Seyðisfjörður, Iceland “Favorite Spots”

2012

Illinois State University, Normal, IL “Pedestals for…”

2011

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL “UBS 12×12”

2011

Arteles Gallery, Haukijarvi, Finland “Untitled Men”

2011

Incheon Art Platform, Incheon, South Korea “Spotlights”

Selected Group Exhibitions and Events

2021

Japanese American Museum, San Jose, San Jose, CA, “Hidden Histories San Jose”

2020

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, “Come to your Census”

2019

ArtObjectGallery, San Jose, CA “Transient Existence”

2017

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, “Public Square, Why Citizenship?”
Bass & Reiner, San Francisco, CA, “Art Book Show”
Art Ark, San Jose, CA, “Vision and Voice”

2016

Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA, “Yud Video Project”
SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA, “Zones of Representation” Symposium

2015

Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea “Imagining New Eurasia Project”
The Blender Gallery, Invitational Photography Exhibition, Athens, Greece “Ithaca Returned”
SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA, “HEAT” Annual Juried Exhibition
Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR, “Grayscale”
Incheon Art Platform, Incheon, South Korea, “2015 IAP Video Anthology”

2014

Pro Arts, Oakland, CA, “The Disquiet”
The 10th Berlin International Directors Lounge, Berlin, Germany
Society for Photographic Education, Annual National Conference Film Festival, Baltimore, MD

2013

Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA, “This Will Never Work!”
The Front, New Orleans, LA “PhotoBOMB”
Kunstraum Tapir, Berlin, Germany “Real It Up!”
Contemporary Museum of Crete, Rethymnom, Greece “Ithaca Returned”
Vathi Museum, Invitational Photography Exhibition, Ithaca, Greece “Ithaca Returned”
Open Engagement Conference, Portland State University, Portland, OR “Silence!”

2012

University of Michigan, Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design. Detroit, MI “Clandestine”
top e.V., Kassel, Germany “Silent Meals”
Azimuth Projects, Chicago, IL “Black Mountain Side”
University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art, Cedar Falls, IA “Times, Interludes, and Action”
Incheon Art Platform, Incheon, South Korea “Platform Festival 2012”

Please email me full C.V.

Residencies and Awards

2015

Takamatsu City Artist-in-Residency, Japan

2015

Serlachius Residency, Finland

2014

The American-Scandinavian Foundation Research in the Creative Arts

2013

Takt Kunstprojektraum, Berlin, Germany

2013

Gallery AŽ, Zagreb, Croatia

2012

top e.V., Kassel, Germany

2012

Skaftfell Center for Visual Art, Seyðisfjörður, Iceland

2011

Incheon Art Platform, Incheon, South Korea

2010

Arteles, Hämeenkyrö, Finland

2010

Atlantic Center for the Arts, with Jean-Marc Bustamante, New Smyrna Beach, Florida