MCAD Hosts Visiting Artist Lecture with Kei Ito | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

MCAD Hosts Visiting Artist Lecture with Kei Ito

April 27, 2025
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2025_spring_visiting_artists_individual_webheader Kei Ito

In April, MCAD hosted visiting artist Kei Ito for a powerful and thought-provoking lecture. Ito, known for his deeply personal and conceptual work, shared insights into his creative philosophy and practice. He believes that art should be fluid rather than static—open to change, movement, and reinterpretation.

Much of Ito’s work is rooted in his family history. His grandfather survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima but lost his sister at ground zero. This traumatic legacy profoundly informs his artistic themes, which often explore the physical and emotional effects of radiation on the human body.

Ito’s first major work, Sun Gazing Scroll, directly addressed the impact of radiation and was exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. He is also known for using non-traditional installation methods—placing his art on floors, ceilings, or in spaces where viewers must walk around or over it. This approach reflects his interest in ephemeral photography: art that is temporary, interactive, and sensitive to its environment.

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The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) acknowledges it is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. This is the ancestral homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe people, who were forcibly exiled from the land because of aggressive and persistent settler colonialism. We recognize that this place has a complex and layered history. As a community dedicated to creativity, MCAD is committed to ongoing efforts to support and advocate for American Indian Nations and peoples.


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