「MARTIN MARGIELA」

rin art association is pleased to present a solo exhibition by the artist Martin Margiela, held in conjunction with Maebashi Biennale 2026.

The exhibition reconfigures a body of works originally presented in MARTIN MARGIELA AT KUDAN HOUSE, the first large-scale solo exhibition of Martin Margiela in Japan, held at Kudan House, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, from April 11 through May 5, 2026. Spanning three venues—rin art association (Takasaki), rin art association MAEBASHI (Maebashi Galleria), and Shop rin art association (Maebashi)—the exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of Margiela’s artistic practice.

In addition, selected works related to the Biennale’s theme, “Mebuku. Where Good Things Grow.”, will be presented at Arts Maebashi, the Biennale’s main venue.

Margiela’s work centers on obsessions rooted in the human body and psyche. Rejecting fixed definitions, it questions idealized notions of what it means to be human.

With a keen power of observation, Margiela brings overlooked aspects of everyday life into focus. His works transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, revealing the essential qualities concealed beneath the surface and inviting viewers into deeper contemplation.

Objects enveloped in faux fur are detached from their conventional functions and presented as entirely new forms within the real world. Conceived with clear conceptual intent, these works employ concealment to question the essential meaning of what lies beneath the surface.

Process occupies a central place in Margiela’s artistic practice. By foregrounding process itself and embracing incompleteness, his works resonate with the impermanent nature of reality while pointing toward a way of being that remains open to the future.

In realizing his ideas, Margiela’s approach resonates with Classical art, Surrealism, Cubism, and other historical artistic movements. Through a meaningful dialogue with these traditions, his work simultaneously renews and transforms established contexts and concepts.

Even after leaving the world of fashion, maintaining anonymity has remained essential to Margiela’s artistic practice. By inviting viewers to imagine the traces left behind within his works, absence—one of the defining themes of his oeuvre—gradually comes into view. To contemplate absence is also to reconsider presence, and this polarity runs throughout his work.

Obsessions manifest differently in every individual. By creating opportunities to reconsider these personal obsessions, Margiela quietly unsettles our taken-for-granted values and perceptions.

Rather than offering fixed answers, his work invites us into a philosophical practice suited to an age of constant transformation.