Taku Obata

Taku Obata Biography

B. 1980, Saitama, Japan – Lives and works in Saitama, Japan

The work of Taku Obata revolves around the body in motion, notably in breakdance. Deeply connected to B-Boy culture in Japan, Obata captures, exaggerates and deforms the human body in dancing movement, emphasizing the bodies’ shapes, poses, and physiques, while eliminating the emotional or inner elements of the figures. His persistent interest in the body is also reflected in the medium he chooses — wood sculpture. By linking this physically demanding and time-consuming Japanese traditional technique with the modernity of his subject that emanates from vibrant hip-hop culture, Obata embodies a dynamic decomposition of body and movement within a broader cultural context.

Taku Obata was born in 1980 in Saitama, Japan. After graduation from the Department of Sculpture in Tokyo University of the Arts (TUA), he completed the Special Graduate Course (sculpture) at TUA in 2008. That same year, he won the best award (3D and installation category) in Tokyo Wonder Wall
2008. He has presented solo exhibitions in the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection in 2012, Jonathan LeVine Gallery in 2014, and Watarium Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo in 2018. Taku Obata is also a breakdancer and is active as a founding member of UNITYSELECTIONS hip-hop team (organized in 1999) and BBOYGER tactical hip-hop unit (organized in 2007).