Ryoji Ikeda (池田 亮司 ''Ikeda Ryōji'', born 1966)
is a Japanese
visual
The visual system is the physiological basis of visual perception (the ability to detect and process light). The system detects, transduces and interprets information concerning light within the visible range to construct an image and buil ...
and
sound art
Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary Time-based media, time-based Artistic medium, medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in Cross-genr ...
ist who currently lives and works in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France. Ikeda's music is concerned primarily with sound in a variety of "raw" states, such as sine tones and noise, often using frequencies at the edges of the range of human hearing. Rhythmically, Ikeda's music is highly imaginative, exploiting
beat patterns and, at times, using a variety of discrete tones and noise to create the semblance of a drum machine. His work also encroaches on the world of ambient music and
lowercase
Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing system ...
; many tracks on his albums are concerned with slowly evolving soundscapes, with little or no sense of pulse.
Early life and education
Ryoji Ikeda was born in
Gifu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...
,
Gifu Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...
, Japan in 1966.
[
]
Career
In addition to working as a solo artist, he has also collaborated with, among others, Carsten Nicolai (under the name "Cyclo.") and the art collective Dumb Type. His work ''matrix'' won the Golden Nica Award in 2001.
In 2004, the dormant Eero Saarinen, Saarinen-designed TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City. The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...
(now JetBlue Terminal 5) at JFK Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is t ...
briefly hosted an art exhibition called Terminal 5 curated by Rachel K. Ward and featuring the work of 18 artists including Ikeda. The show featured work, lectures and temporary installations drawing inspiration from the idea of travel — and the terminal's architecture. The show was to run from October 1, 2004 to January 31, 2005 — though it closed abruptly after the building itself was vandalized during the opening party.
In May – June 2011 a presentation of three of the artist's immersive audio/visual projects, ''The Transfinite'', was exhibited at the Park Avenue Armory.
In 2014, Ikeda was awarded the Prix Ars Electronica ''Collide@CERN 2014''. As a result, he began his residency at CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...
in July 2014 until 2015, during which he developed ''supersymmetry'' and ''micro , macro''.
Ikeda was one of the artists, designers and architects presented in the group show ''Entangle / Physics and the Artistic Imagination'' (2018-11-16 - 2019-04-07) at Bildmuseet, Umeå University, Sweden.
Discography
Recordings
* ''1000 fragments'' (cci recordings, 1995 & Raster-Noton, 2008)
* ''+/-'' (Touch
The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...
, 1996)
* ''time and space'' ( Staalplaat, 1998)
* ''0 °C'' (Touch, 1998)
* ''Mort Aux Vaches'' (Mort Aux Vaches, 1999 & 2002)
* ''99: Variations For Modulated 440 Hz Sinewaves'' ( Raster-Noton, 1999)
* ''matrix'' (Touch, 2000)
* ''.'' (with Carsten Nicolai as Cyclo.; Raster-Noton, 2001)
* ''op.'' (Touch, 2002)
* '' dataplex'' (Raster-Noton, 2005)
* ''test pattern'' (Raster-Noton, 2008)
* ''dataphonics'' (Dis Voir, 2010)
* ''id'' (with Carsten Nicolai as Cyclo.; Raster-Noton, 2011)
* ''supercodex'' (Raster-Noton, 2013)
* ''Live at White Cube'' (with Christian Marclay; The Vinyl Factory, White Cube, 2015)
* ''The Solar System'' (The Vinyl Factory, 2015)
* ''code name: A to Z'' (The Vinyl Factory, 2017)
* ''music for percussion'' (The Vinyl Factory, 2017)
* ''music for percussion'' (codex , edition, 2018)
* ''music for installations vol.1'' (codex , edition, 2021)
* ''music for installations vol.2'' (codex , edition, 2022)
* ''ultratronics'' ( NOTON, 2022)
As Part of Dumb Type
* ''S/N'' (Newsic 1995)
* ''Teji Furuhashi / Dumb Type - 1985-1994'' (Foil Records, 1996)
* ''OR'' (Foil Records, 1998)
* ''Memorandum'' (CCI Recordings, 2000)
Compilations
* "Preamble", ''Silence'' (Spiral, 1993)
* "Radio-Range", "Zone 3", "Zone 4", "Zone 1" & "Preamble (For Silence)", ''Document 02 - Sine'' (Dorobo, 1995)
* "Untitled", ''Statics'' (cci recordings, 1995)
* "Headphonics 1/1", ''Mesmer Variations'' (Ash International, 1995)
* "Untitled 071295", ''A Fault in the Nothing'' (Ash International, 1996)
* "What's Wrong", "Test No. 1" & "Abstructures", ''Atomic Weight'' (Iridium, 1996)
* "One Minute", ''Tulpas'' (Selektion, 1997)
* "Headphonics 0/0", ''Touch Sampler 2'' (Touch, 1997)
* "Untitled", ''RRR 500'' (RRRecords, 1998)
* "Interference", ''Meme'' (Meme, 1998)
* "Interference 001", ''Chill Out'' (Sabotage Recordings, 1998)
* " (zero)degreesInstallation", ''Just About Now'' (V227, 1998)
* "Interference 003", ''Modulation & Transformation 4'' (Mille Plateaux, 1999)
* "C ::Coda (For T.F.)", ''ONE :SOUND 001: 00:00-50:00'' (One Percent, 1999)
* "The Great American Broadcast", ''End ID'' (Digital Narcis Corporation,. Ltd, 1999)
* "Zero Degrees , ''Sonar 99'' (So Dens, 1999)
* "Zero Degrees , ''Microscopic Sound'' (Caipirinha Productions, 1999)
* "Zero Degrees", ''Prix Ars Electronica CyberArts 2000'' (Ars Electronica Center, 2000)
* "Matrix (For An Anechoic Room)", ''Touch 00'' (Touch, 2000)
* "0* :: Zero Degrees (1)", ''Sonic Boom: The Art of Sound'' (Hayward Gallery, 2000)
* "Cyclo cycle" (as Ikeda), ''New Forms - Compilation'' (Raster-Noton, 2000)
* "Untitled (For Disney)", ''Disney Age @ D_100 Cafe'' (Walt Disney Records, 2001)
* "ringtone_1 / ringtone_2" & "unobtainable", ''Ringtones'' (Touch, 2001)
* "One Minute", ''An Anthology Of Noise & Electronic Music / First A-Chronology'' (Sub Rosa, 2002)
* "Spectra II", ''Frequenzen z/ Frequencies z' (Hatje Cantz, 2002)
* "Untitled 020402", ''KREV X - The Kingdoms of Elgaland-Vargaland, 1992–2002'' (Ash International, 2002)
* "Abstructures", ''Ju-Jikan: 10 Hours of Sound From Japan'' (23five, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2002)
* "0’12’’32" & "0’12’’34", ''Raster-Noton. Archiv 1'' (Wire Magazine, Raster-Noton, 2003)
* "Spectra II Edit", ''Frequencies z' (Raster-Noton, 2003)
* "3’33", ''Festival Voor Nieuwe Muziek > Happy New Ears 2004'' (Happy New Ears, 2004)
* "Untitled #25", ''Touch 25'' (Touch, 2006)
* "data.vortex", ''Mind The Gap Volume 62'' (Gonzo Circus, 2006)
* "0’12’’32" & "0’12’’34", ''Notations Archiv 1'' (Raster-Noton, 2006)
* "Data.Syntax (Uit Dataplex)", ''Festival Voor Nieuwe Muziek > Hapy New Ears 2007 ''(Gonzo Circus, 2007)
* "Headphonics 0/1 (Original Mix)", ''Dissonance Promo'' (Beatport Promotion, 2008)
* "Back In Black", ''Recovery'' (Fractured Recordings, 2008)
* "Test Pattern 0101", ''14 Tracks: Between The Wires'' (Boomkat, 2010)
* "Dataphonics 10 Structure", ''Qwartz 7'' (TRAD>D, 2011)
* "Supercodex 20", ''14 Tracks: Digital Diaspora'' (Boomkat, 2014)
* ''tracks 1993–2011'' (codex , edition, 2018)
Publications
* ''formula'' ook + DVD(NTT Publishing, 2002 & Forma, 2005)
* ''V≠L'' (Éditions Xavier Barral, 2008)
* ''+/-'' he infinite between 0 and 1(Esquire Magazine Japan Co. Ltd, 2009)
* ''dataphonics'' book+cd (Éditions DIS VOIR, 2010)
* ''id'' (with Carsten Nicolai as Cyclo.; gestalten, 2011)
* ''datamatics'' book (Charta, 2012)
* ''Ryoji Ikeda: micro , macro'', 2015. Exhibition Catalogue. (ZKM Karlsruhe, NINO Druck, Neustadt/Weinstraße, 2015)
* ''Ryoji Ikeda , continuum'' (Éditions Xavier Barral, 2018)
Solo exhibitions
2002
* ''db'', NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC), Tokyo, JP (curated by Minoru Hatanaka)
2007
* ''data.tron rototype'' De Vleeshal, Middelburg, NL
2008
* ''datamatics'', Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM), JP (curated by Kazunao Abe)
* ''spectra'', dream amsterdam 2008, Amsterdam, NL
* ''data.tron'', MIC Toi Rerehiko, Media and Interdisciplinary Arts Centre, Auckland, NZ
* ''V≠L'', Le Laboratoire, Paris, FR (curated by Caroline Naphegyi)
2009
* ''data.tron K enhanced version', Ars Electronica Center, Linz, AT
* ''+/- he infinite between 0 and 1', Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, JP (curated by Yuko Hasegawa)
* ''data.tron'', Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK (curated by Nigel Prince)
2010
* ''spectra arcelona', Grec Barcelona Festival and Sonár, Barcelona, ES
* ''the transcendental'', French Institute Alliance Française, New York, US
* ''test pattern º3', Théâtre de Gennevilliers, FR
2011
* ''the transfinite'', Park Avenue Armory, New York, US (curated by Kristy Edmunds)
* ''datamatics'', Museo de Arte, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, CO (curated by Maria Belen Saez de Ibarra)
2012
* ''db'', Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, DE (curated by Ingrid Buschmann and Gabriele Knapstein)
* ''datamatics'', LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Gijón, ES (curated by Benjamin Weil)
* ''data.anatomy ivic', KRAFTWERK, Berlin, DE
* ''Ryoji Ikeda'', DHC/ART, Montréal, CA (curated by John Zeppetelli)
2013
* ''data.scan º1-9', MU and STRP Biennale, Eindhoven, NL
* ''test pattern º4', FRAC Franche- Comté, Besançon, FR
* ''test pattern º5', Carriageworks/ISEA2013/VividSydney, Sydney, AU
* ''data.tron SXGA+ version', Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh, US
* ''data.path'', Espacio Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, ES
* ''systematics'', Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo, JP
2014
* ''supersymmetry'', Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (YCAM), Yamaguchi, JP
* ''C⁴I creening version', Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, CA
* ''supersymmetry'', le lieu unique, Nantes, FR
* ''test pattern imes square', Times Square, New York, US
* ''Ryoji Ikeda'', Salon 94, New York, US
* ''test pattern º6', Red Bull Music Academy – Spiral Hall, Tokyo, JP
* ''Ryoji Ikeda'', House of Electronic Arts Basel (HeK), CH
2015
* ''data.tron/data.scan'', SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, US
* ''supersymmetry'', The Vinyl Factory, London, UK
* ''micro , macro'', ZKM, Karlsruhe, DE
* ''datamatics'', Espai d’art contemporani de Castelló, ES
* ''supersymmetry'', KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn, EE
2016
* ''data.matrix º1-10', Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh, US
* ''data.scape'', ICC Sydney, Sydney, AU
2017
* '' A ">or 100 Cars'' Los Angeles
2018
* ''Ryoji Ikeda , continuum'', Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR
* ''micro , macro'', Carriageworks, Sydney, AU
* ''Ryoji Ikeda: code-verse'', Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, RU
*''Ryoji Ikeda'', Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, NL
2021
*''Ryoji Ikeda'', 180 The Strand, London, UK
2023
*''Ryoji Ikeda'', Amos Rex, Helsinki, Finland
2024
* ''Ryoji Ikeda,'' Almine Rech, Brussels, Belgium
* Ryoji Ikeda, ERM, Tartu, Estonia
Other references
* Jennings, Gabrielle. Abstract Video, The Moving Image In Contemporary Art 2015. University of California Press.
* Fairley, Gina. “Superposition: Ryoji Ikeda” Visual Arts Hub. Retrieved 2 February 2017
http://visual.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/visual-arts/gina-fairley/superposition- ryoji-ikeda-249435
* O’Hagan, Sean. “Spectra: The Dazzling Column of Light Over London” The Guardian. 5 August 2014
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/aug/05/ryoji-ikeda-spectra-first-world- war-artangel
* Harris, Mark. “London, Ryoji Ikeda” Art Forum. Retrieved 2 February 2017
http://artforum.com/picks/id=52366
* Holmes, Natalie. “Bending Waves of Sound and Light” New Scientist. 16 February 2012. https://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2012/02/bending-waves-of-sound-and-light.html
* Zeppetelli, John. “Ryoji Ikeda: a survey” Domus. 26 October 2012
* Budick, Ariella. “Intimacy on a grand scale” Financial Times. 27 May 2011.
* Mignon, Oliver. “Ryoji Ikeda Gallery Koyanagi” Art Forum. March 2011.
* Smith, Steve. “The Noises of Modern Life, Ending in a Bombardment” The New York Times. 12 September 201
* Tcherepnin, Sergei. “Materialisations of the Immaterial” The Brooklyn Rail. 9 July 2009
www.brooklynrail.org/2009/07/music/materializations-of-the-immaterial
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikeda, Ryoji
1966 births
20th-century Japanese male musicians
21st-century Japanese male musicians
Artists from Gifu Prefecture
Experimental composers
Japanese classical composers
Japanese contemporary artists
Japanese male classical composers
Japanese sound artists
Living people
Musicians from Gifu Prefecture
Noise musicians
Sub Rosa Records artists