In London’s art circuit, a shattering yet visionary micro-cosmos awaits us in the South Gallery halls of Hauser & Wirth. “Microcosms”, the first comprehensive exhibition of Japanese artist Tetsumi Kudo (1935–1990) in London in over a decade, can be viewed until 18 April 2026. Kudo’s warnings about the “Anthropocene” whispered fifty years ago carry an eerily timely resonance for us today, living in the midst of the climate crisis and technological encirclement.
New Ecology: The Fusion of Human, Machine and Nature
At the centre of Kudo’s practice lies the concept he called “New Ecology”. According to the artist, ethical values have become as replaceable as consumer goods; technology, nature, and humanity have begun feeding one another in a closed circuit.
Signature Forms: The exhibition presents a wide selection of Kudo’s iconic cages, cubes, and artificial gardens.
Language of Materials: Store-bought plastic dolls, kitchen utensils, and transistors intertwine with handmade biomorphic body parts and fluorescent artificial plants.
Radioactive Aesthetic: Shaped by the destruction of World War II, his worldview adds a kind of “post-apocalyptic survival” aesthetic to his works. Plastic plants grow among vacuum tubes, while leech-like phallic forms fuse with circuit boards.
From Tokyo to Paris: An Avant-Garde Journey
After winning an award in 1962, Kudo moved to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life and became one of the most unconventional voices on the European avant-garde scene. Another notable aspect of the exhibition is the simultaneous Takesada Matsutani exhibition in the North Gallery. Both artists emigrated from Japan to Paris in the 1960s, rejecting established ways of making art and creating their own radical languages. Matsutani describes Kudo’s art as “a destructive beauty born from a combative spirit that rejects established thinking.”
A Legacy That Foresees the Future
Kudo was not only a sculptor but also the creator of “happenings” that included figures like Marcel Duchamp. With his satirical, critical, and sometimes bluntly direct approach, he left a deep mark on major names such as Mike Kelley, Paul McCarthy, and Isa Genzken. While his works are now held in the world’s most prestigious collections from the Pompidou to MoMA, they continue to force the viewer to become part of this complex cosmos.
“For Kudo, nature is no longer an unspoiled green space, but a new life form mutated by technology.”
