The artist mainly produces video and installation, many of which are developed site-specifically. He often deals with everyday commodities and surroundings, and recently has put more focus on everyday people’s behavior with his conceptual approach and subtle control, in order to create a visual sphere that challenges the mundane and the rational embedded in the minds of the viewers. In doing so, he lets the work entice them into a spontaneous aesthetic experience.
Read MoreTanaka was honored by being chosen to represent Japan at the 2013 Venice Biennale, where he plans to use elements of the March 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami as a theme for the installation.
He has shown widely in and outside Japan: at the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo), Yokohama Triennale (Yokohama), the Palais de Tokyo (Paris), the Taipei Biennial (Taipei), the Asia Society (New York), the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London).
Before graduating from the Tokyo University of Arts, Tanaka was Artist in Residence at Location One, New York with a support of Asian Cultural Council (ACC) fellowship. On the recommendation of Kazuhiro Yamamoto, Tanaka was awarded the Fellowship of Overseas Study Programme for Artists by the Agency for Cultural Affairs by the Japanese Government.
