Artist: Mariko Mori

Sean Kelly presents Radiance, an exhibition of new work by internationally acclaimed artist Mariko Mori. In this deeply contemplative presentation, Mori unites cutting edge technological materials with ancient cosmologies, drawing inspiration from the enduring spiritual traditions of Japan. Spanning sculpture, installation, and works on paper, the exhibition reflects Mori’s long-standing engagement with metaphysical concepts and technical innovation grounded in her cultural heritage.

Radiance is rooted in Mori’s extensive research into Japan’s stone cultures from the Jomon (14,000–300 BCE) and Yayoi (300 BCE–300 CE) periods through the Kofun (250–538 CE) and Asuka eras (538–710 CE). Informed by site visits to sacred geological formations across the Japanese archipelago, including the storied rocks of Okinoshima Island and the shrines of Izumo and Awaji, Mori focuses on these ancestral sites through a contemporary lens. Upon entering the main gallery, visitors are greeted by two luminous stone pillars. These works, from Mori’s Stone series, reimagine Japan’s revered rocks, or Iwakura, which for millennia have been sites of divine presence. Their dichroic surfaces shift with ambient light and the viewer’s movement, reimagining invisible energies that recall the stones’ original function as portals to the sacred.

Also in the main gallery, Mori has installed an environment that recreates the spiritual experience of entering shrines in Japan. Presented entirely in white, the installation evokes a space of purity and transcendence. A soft breeze gently moves through the silk veils wrapping the inner sanctum, infusing the work with an almost imperceptible sense of movement and breath. Within this meditative environment are two additional stone works, Kamitate Stone I and Oshito Stone III, their luminous surfaces resonating with the surrounding architecture. Together, the shrine and sculptures form the heart of the exhibition, offering a space of stillness and reflection that connects historic belief systems with Mori’s futuristic vision.

Surrounding this sacred core are Mori’s Unity photo paintings which reflect on the interconnectedness of all things. Rooted in rituals and philosophies such as the Chadō (tea ceremony), they embody Mori’s broader practice at the intersection of art, science, spirituality, and technology. As the artist recalls, the series was inspired by an overwhelming vision of radiant light. Mori recalls, “the manifestation of a profound and boundless love— the primordial source from which all life arises... In that sacred moment, I felt a profound connection to the Great Light. My heart overflowed with the realization that no soul is ever truly alone.” Through these works, Mori conveys this eternal bond between the divine presence and all living beings.

In the front gallery, Mori presents poetic works on silk and paper that extend the meditative quality of the series. Their refined execution and contemplative scale invite close looking, offering an intimate counterpart to the monumental stones and shrine. Together, these works create a rhythm of immersion and reflection that anchors the exhibition.

Radiance expands Mori’s visionary practice, seamlessly intertwining the spiritual and the technological, the material and the immaterial. It invites viewers to journey through spaces of transcendence and reflection, reminding us of the interdependence of humanity, nature, and the cosmos.

Mariko Mori lives and works in New York and Tokyo. In the Fall of 2026, the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, will present a major retrospective of Mariko Mori’s work across all media, spanning three decades. The exhibition is co-curated by Alexandra Munroe, Senior Curator at Large, Global Arts, Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, and Mami Kataoka, Director, Mori Art Museum. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at major international institutions, including the Royal Academy of Arts, London; the Japan Society, New York; The Serpentine Gallery, London; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris amongst others. Mariko Mori’s work is in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Tate Modern, London; the Louisiana Museum, Denmark; the ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseums, Denmark; the Asia Society, New York; the Pinchuk Foundation, Ukraine; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, amongst many others worldwide. Mori has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Menzione d’onore at the 47th Venice Biennale in 1997 and the 8th Annual Award as a promising Artist and Scholar in the Field of Contemporary Japanese Art in 2001 from Japan Cultural Arts Foundation. In 2014, she was named an honorary Fellow of University of the Arts London.