Biography
Ruijters is an artist who focusses on the phenomenology of intimacy and identity. His work explores how contemporaneity shifts and morphs these phenomena. Through his art he intends to establish new levels of understanding—and perhaps some form of ‘peacemaking’—with these morphed bonds. The context of his work is rooted in his research on ‘Aesthetics of Intimacy’. By crossing boundaries of inner space and outer public space, his goal is also to challenge notions of intimacy. In the form of his work, he aims for a synthesis between the poetic, conceptual and technological. Ruijters is also active as a curator. He has obtained a PhD in Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts.
Past exhibitions include solo exhibitions ‘Cave Inside The Body of Shadows’ (CAVE-AYUMIGALLERY, JP) and ‘Breathing IN/EX-terior’ (Komagome SOKO gallery, JP). Group exhibitions include ‘Roppongi Art Night’ (Tokyo Midtown, JP), 1.5 Celsius (MSU Museum, USA) and ‘Ars Electronica’. Curatorial activities include ‘Mimicry of Hollows’ (The 5th Floor, JP) and ‘To Defeat the Purpose: Guerilla Tactics in Latin American Art’ (Aoyama Meguro Gallery, JP). Awards include Japanese Government Scholarship (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) and the Prins Berhard Culture fund Scholarship.
Solo Exhitibions
2023 ‘Cave Inside the Body of Shadows’, Cave-Ayumi Gallery, Tokyo, JP
2019 'Breathing IN/EX-terior', Komagome SOKO gallery, Tokyo, JP. Guest curator: Seiha Kurosawa, supervision: Yuko Hasegawa.
2014 'BOKUSAIGA: Expressing Japan', Atelier 228, The Hague, NL
Group Exhibitions (selection)
2023 Roppongi Art Night, Tokyo Midtown, JP
2022 1.5 Celsius, MSU Museum, USA
2022 TEI 2022 : International Conference on Tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction, Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, Daejeon, KOR (Online)
2022 Data Art for Climate Action, Singing Waves Gallery, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, HK
2021 Ars Electronica ‘Artificial Intentionalities: Art in the Cloud’ (Online), HK
2021 ‘SDGs x ARTs’, The University Museum Tokyo Univ. of the Arts, Tokyo, JP
2021 ‘Mimicry of Hollows’, The 5th Floor, Tokyo, JP
2021 Constructing Contexts: Art Machines 2 Art Gallery, Singing Waves Gallery, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, HK
2020 Tougenkyo Art Festival, Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art, Ibaraki, JP
2019 ‘Tokyo University of the Arts Doctoral Program Final Exhibition’, The University Museum, Tokyo, JP
2018 'Radical Observers', Akibatamabi21 gallery, 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, JP
2017 'Substantial Visions', Tama Art University Graduate School Information Design Course Artwork Exhibition 2017, YCC Yokohama Creativecity Center, JP
2015 Tokyo 5 Art Universities Joint Exhibition, Tokyo, JP
2014 Paintings 'BOKUSAIGA', Aichi Prefecture Foreign Artist Exhibition, Okazaki, JP
2012 Interactive Installation, 'VEINS', Off Centre festival, Melkweg, Amsterdam, NL
2011 Interactive Installation 'Tactile Echo', Fiber festival, Trouw, Amsterdam, NL
2010 Watercolour 'The Pecular', One Hour Art, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, NL
2010 Interactive Installation 'Tactile Echo', Freemote festival, Utrechts Archief, Utrecht, NL
2010 Interactive Installation 'Tactile Echo', Fruitfest festival, Huis aan de Werf, Utrecht, NL
2010 Interactive Installation 'Tactile Echo', Music and Art Days festival, Vredeburg Leeuwenbergh, Utrecht, NL
2010 Interactive Installation 'Digital Marbles', Tweetakt Theatre Festival, Neude, Utrecht, NL
Performances Directed
2023 Shadowplay, Telematic Performance, Roppongi Art Night, Tokyo
2023 Shadowplay, Telematic Performance, Cave-Ayumi Gallery, Tokyo
2023 Shadowplay, Telematic Performance, Broedplaats Contact, Amsterdam
2015 3rd Skin live-painting performance, Paint Your Teeth, Tokyo
2015 Triangle Tribes live-painting performance, Bar Rosso198, Tokyo
Curational Activities
2022 Curator, ‘Kenji Hirasawa: Thermomacy’, Shibuya Fashion Week, Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo, JP
2021 Co-curator, ‘Mimicry of Hollows’, The 5th Floor, Tokyo, JP
2020 Co-curator, To defeat the purpose: guerilla tactics in Latin American Art, Aoyama Meguro Gallery, Tokyo, JP
2018 Exhibition Designer, Art Fair Tokyo '18, World Art Tokyo: Pangea Tectonics', Tokyo, JP
2015 Art Director, Tokyo 5 Art Universities Joint Exhibition, Tokyo, JP
Grants & Awards
2023 Mondriaan Fund, Cultural Grant, NL
2023 International Heritage Cooperation, Cultural Grant, NL
2023 Arts Council Tokyo Grant, JP
2023 Contribution ‘Cave Inside The Body of Shadows’, Embassy of The Netherlands in Japan
2022 Netherlands-America Fund, Cultural Grant, NL
2022 Creative Industry Fund, Digital Culture Grant, NL
2021 Contribution ‘Mimicry of Hollows’, Embassy of The Netherlands in Japan
2019 Contribution ‘Breathing IN/EX-terior’, Embassy of The Netherlands in Japan
2021 Geidai I Love U Grant, JP
2019 Arts Council Tokyo Grant, JP
2015 Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship, JP
2015 Prins Bernhard Culture Fund Scholarship, NL
2012 Dutch winner European Charlemagne Youth Prize, EU
2011 1st prize International PORTICO students' challenge, Köln, DE
Press & Publications
Iwata, T., Takagi, Y. (2023, May). Mimicry of Hollows, 2021αΩ|The 5th Floor Annual Book“Roppongi Future Talks” Roppongi Street
Theater" 2nd Project Report ‘The Possibility of an Installation that Transforms Space’, 2023/08/09
2022 LC, RAY, and Vincent Ruijters. “CHIKYUCHI: In-Person/Remote Game Exhibition for Climate Change Influence.” Sixteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, Association for Computing Machinery, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1145/3490149.3507784.
2021 Ruijters, V., & LC, R. (2021). Chikyuchi. In Art Machines 2: International Symposium on Machine Learning and Art 2021 Proceedings (pp.269–269). Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong; School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong.
2021 (2021) Chikyuchi [Exhibition catalogue]. Exhibited at The University Museum Tokyo University of the Arts June 22 – August 31 2021.
“Interactive Storytelling” Climate Influence: Implicit Game-Based Interactive Storytelling for Climate Action Purpose, Springer 2021/12/07
“The Curtain” Vincent Ruijters, Blurring Roles Between Artist and Curator, 2021/10/07
“Brutus Magazine” July issue, How Young Latin American Artists use Guerrilla Tactics to express themelves, 2020/7/1
“Bijutsu Techo Magazine” June Issue, Artist Pickup: Vincent Ruijters 2019/7/5
Education
2020 PhD Intermedia Art, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, JP
2017 MSc, Media Art, Tama Art University, Tokyo, JP
2014 Japanese Language, Tokyo Central Japanese Language School, Tokyo, JP
2014 Japanese Language, The Yamasa Institute, Okazaki, JP
2011 MA Creative Design for Digital Cultures, Utrecht School of the Arts, NL
2011 BA Art and Technology, Digital Media Design, Utrecht School of the Arts, NL
Lectures and Teaching
2022 Panel Discussion ‘Art and Performance’, TEI 2022 : International Conference on Tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction, Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, Dae jeon, KOR
2021 Panel Discussion ’How Online Shapes Art?, Ars Electronica 2021 Garden Hong Kong, Panel Participant
2020 Visiting Lecturer, Deparment of Creative Innovation Musashino Art University, Tokyo
2017 Symposium 'Fine Art & The PhD - Art and Language' Korean Cultural Center, Tokyo
2017 Senior Tutor, Intermedia Art Course, Tokyo University of the Arts, JP
2016 Lecture 'The Bizarre Life of a Young Artist in Tokyo', Japanmuseum Sieboldhuis, Leiden, NL
2015 Graduate teaching assistant, Media Art Course, Tama Art University, Tokyo, JP
2015 Lecture 'Japanese Contemporary Art', Museon, The Hague, NL
2014 Workshop 'Japanese Calligraphy', Atelier 228, The Hague, NL
2014 Lecture 'Japanese Contemporary Art', Atelier 228, The Hague, NL
2012 Workshop 'New Media & Architecture' for Master Interior Architecture, Visual Arts and Design Faculty, Utrecht School of the Arts, Utrecht, NL
2011 Guerilla course for first year Media, Art and Media Technology Faculty, Utrecht School of the Arts, Hilversum, NL
2009 Lecture on the CCIG Interactive Installation for the Studium Generale at the Visual Arts and Design Faculty, Utrecht School for the Arts, Utrecht, NL
Committee
2011 Mid Year Assesment comittee for first year Media, Art and Media Technology Faculty, Utrecht School of the Arts, Hilversum, NL
2009 admissions committee Digital Media Design, Art and Media Technology Faculty, Utrecht School of the Arts, Hilversum, NL