Shiota And Kataoka Receive France's Order Of Arts And Letters

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota and Mami Kataoka, director of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, have been appointed to France's l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters). Shiota was honored with the rank of Officier, while Kataoka received the Chevalier rank. The French Ambassador to Japan, Béatrice Le Fraper du Hellen, presided over the awards ceremony on September 8 at the ambassador's official residence in Tokyo.

Born in Osaka in 1972, Shiota currently lives and works in Berlin. Her art explores universal themes such as life, death, and relationships through installation, sculpture, drawing, painting, and performance video, often incorporating everyday objects like house keys or beds engulfed in intricate thread structures. Shiota represented Japan at the Fifty-Sixth Venice Biennale in 2015 and has won both the Mainichi Art Award and the Japan Foundation Award. Her largest solo exhibition,“The Soul Trembles,” was curated by Kataoka and debuted at the Mori Art Museum in 2019. This exhibition has since toured eight cities and is scheduled to open at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on September 26.

Kataoka joined the Mori Art Museum in 2003, becoming its director in 2020. She also serves as director of ICA Kyoto at Kyoto University of the Arts Graduate School. From 2023 until earlier this year, she directed the National Center for Art Research at Japan's National Museum of Art. Kataoka was a codirector of the Ninth Gwangju Biennale in 2012 and artistic director of the Twenty-First Biennale of Sydney in 2018. She is currently cocurating the 2027 Helsinki Biennial with Helsinki Art Museum director Arja Miller. Kataoka also chairs the executive committee for Tokyo's 2026 Roppongi Art Night, which will highlight French art from October 31 to November 1.

Established in 1957 by the French Ministry of Culture, l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres recognizes significant contributions to arts and literature, both within France and internationally. Recipients do not need to be French nationals. Annual appointments for French citizens are made across three ranks: Chevalier (Knight) for 450 individuals, Officier (Officer) for 140 individuals, and Commandeur (Commander) for 50 recipients.

Source: Artforum

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