Born in 1982 in Hokkaido, Japan, Atsuko Yamagata is based in Gunma and works between Japan and the Philippines. Her practice is materially driven and process-based, spanning two-dimensional works and installations using glue, handmade paper, thread, fabric, pigment, and water.
Situated at the intersection of new materialism, feminist thought, and folkloric knowledge, her work explores forms of life and emotional universality. Drawing on microscopic imagery and local memory, she activates the agency of materials through processes of bleeding, layering, and accumulation, allowing works to emerge as events shaped by relations between matter, body, and time.
Recent presentations include Tokyo Gendai 2025; the Nakanojo Biennale (2017, 2019, 2023, 2025, Japan); a group exhibition at the Vargas Art Museum (2022); a two-person exhibition with Mervy Pueblo at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (2019–2020); and a solo exhibition at The Drawing Room (2025). She was a finalist of the Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2022.
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