Simon Fujiwara

Simon Fujiwara born 1982, London, England. Lives and works in Berlin, Germany.

Fujiwara’s work takes multiple forms including wax figures, robotic cameras, ‘make-up’ paintings and short films that address the complexity and contradictions of identity in a post-internet, hyper-capitalist world. The artist often investigates themes of popular interest such as tourist attractions, famous icons, historic narratives and mass media imagery and has collaborated with the advertising and entertainment industries to produce his work in a process he describes as ‘hyper-engagement’ with dominant forms of cultural production. Fujiwara’s work can be seen as a complex response to the human effects of image fetish, technology and social media on his generation. In 2022, Simon Fujiwara introduced to the world ‘Who the Bær,’ an original cartoon character that inhabits a fantasy universe created by the artist and infiltrates various art-world images and masterpieces from art history. Part of the series premiered at the Prada Foundation.

Fujiwara had numerous solo exhibitions, among others, at KIAMSA (Helsinki), the Fondazione Prada (Milano), Blaffer Art Museum (Houston, TX), Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf), Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (Tokyo). He was part of various group exhibitions, including in the MAXXI (Rome), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York City), Musée national d’Art Moderne — Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Hamburger Bahnhof (Berlin). Fujiwara has been shortlisted for the Preis der Nationalgalerie at Hamburger Bahnhof. His works are part of numerous prestigious collections including The Tate Collection, London; MoMa, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Sammlung Verbund, Vienna; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Galeries Lafayette, Paris; The Prada Collection, Milan amongst others.