Yuko Mohri: Entanglements: Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, Italy
From September 18, 2025, to January 11, 2026, Pirelli HangarBicocca will present Entanglements, a solo exhibition by Yuko Mohri (Kanagawa, Japan, 1980; lives and works in Tokyo), a Japanese artist whose work explores the transformative potential of everyday objects and natural elements and their ability to generate visual and sonic shifts. Through ephemeral assemblages and interconnected systems, she draws the public’s attention to fundamental environmental and social issues.
Yuko Mohri is known for her intricate and original compositions, recently presented in Italy at the 60th Venice Biennale (2024) in the Japan Pavilion. Inspired by Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), Mohri creates site-specific kinetic sculptures that incorporate found items, as well as reworked musical instruments connected to electronic circuits. Her works respond to imperceptible, transient, and ephemeral phenomena, such as gravity, magnetism, heat, and humidity. Random and unstable environmental elements—such as air, dust, debris, and temperature—shape her assemblages, transforming them into organic ecosystems where the sound component is central.
Entanglements is Yuko Mohri’s most extensive solo exhibition to date at a European institution. The title evokes the invisible links and complex interactions that exist between objects, forces, sounds, and people. The show explores how each element belongs to an interconnected system in which nothing acts independently, and everything is part of a vast, ever-evolving network of relationships. Mohri’s delicately balanced sculptures reveal the latent complexity of the natural and artificial structures that constitute our world and the constant flow of energy surrounding us. Through the materials she employs, Mohri introduces subtle irony and a nearly hidden ludic dimension, drawing on cultural references, including those from philosophy to pop culture, as well as iconographic and sonic influences ranging from kinetic art to sound experimentation.
The exhibition is accompanied by the most comprehensive monograph to date on Yuko Mohri’s practice. The volume features essays by international art critics and scholars who have closely followed Mohri’s career. It includes an overview of her work by art critic Ryo Sawayama; an essay by curator Martin Clark; and a contribution by curator Diego Sileo. A selection of Mohri’s own writings offers a personal perspective on her relationship with sound and a text by the curators of the show provides deeper insight into the exhibition project at Pirelli HangarBicocca. Moreover, a unique feature developed specifically for this publication is the glossary, which explores key themes in Mohri’s work and offers a new interpretive tool for understanding her evolving artistic language. Lastly, the catalog includes the Japanese Shōjo manga by Ran Kurumi illustrating Mohri’s artistic journey.
Images: Yuko Mohri, Installation view, Entanglements, Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, 2025. Photo by Agostino Osio
