photo courtesy by Asian Improv aRts Midwest
Hiroshi Mehata/ Mehata Sentimental Legend
Biography
Hiroshi Mehata: A Visionary Weaving Sound into Form
Hiroshi Mehata, a Tokyo-based artist, has spent over a decade transcending boundaries, transforming the dynamism of free improvisation into visual and experiential art that resonates across cultures and eras.
"Origin and Awakening: The Birth of a Sonic Vision" (2011-2013)
His journey began in 2011 with the experimental solo album Noum Zeccyou, hailed as a "radical fusion of Japanese tradition and psychedelic noise." The album’s jacket featured drawings inspired by Japanese family crests, symbolizing abstract music through traditional hues infused with psychedelic elements. These evolved into digital drawings, gaining global attention via Facebook and leading to his first solo exhibition in Spain in 2013. Concurrently, Mehata pioneered "sound calligraphy," capturing the rhythms and energy of improvisation in ink strokes—a thread weaving through his diverse oeuvre of paintings, installations, and digital innovations.
"Foundations Beyond Borders: Riding the Wave of Creation" (Early 2010s-2015)
In the early 2010s, as social media redefined connectivity, Mehata harnessed its momentum.
His Spanish debut, achieved in under two years of painting, showcased his ability to forge visceral, cross-border connections.
This era of unrestrained creativity laid the foundation for a career that defies conventional labels.
"Soaring Globally: Pioneering Live and Participatory Art" (2016-2019)
Between 2016 and 2018, he electrified New York with tours, headlining festivals like Ende Tymes 777 and Mixology Festival.
His live performances—blending improvised sound with video projections on massive screens—captivated audiences, establishing him as an avant-garde luminary.
In 2019, in Chicago, he performed alongside free jazz giants like Tatsu Aoki, with the recordings later released as the 2022 solo album Chicagobihiro.
In 2016, he was a finalist in Concorso Arte Milano, exhibiting calligraphy-centered works in Milan.
At the 2019 Makassar Biennale, pieces like Moon Echo and QR Music turned city sounds into participatory installations, shifting spectatorship from passive to active.
"Silence and Transformation: Rebirth Amid Crisis" (2020-2021)
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 lockdown’s silence, Mehata explored traditional techniques with metal foil.
These works, a deliberate pivot from his vibrant past, reflected a color-drained society and etched the pandemic’s stillness.
That year, he released Exhausted Woeks, his first album in nine years, amplifying its somber depth with sound to express isolation and nascent renewal.
Simultaneously, he embraced apps and NFTs, signaling new possibilities in a world seeking the "new normal."
In 2021, Resistance was completed and selected as one of 18 finalists for the YICCA Prize.
Through an unintended scanner error, this work fuses calligraphy with NFTs, embedding the force of sound into ink to embody resistance and regeneration amidst crisis.
"Revival in Light: A New Frontier of Color and Digital" (2022-2023)
This evolution culminated in his 2023 Indonesia a groundbreaking solo exhibition The Color Cleanser, where an app translating color into sound made audience interaction part of the display, paired with a 3D gallery.
Vivid hues and generated sound cleansed contemporary memory, heralding a revival from the pandemic’s shadows.
For over a decade, Hiroshi Mehata has carved a singular path, turning sound into form and form into experience.
From Tokyo’s underground to New York’s stages, biennales to blockchain, his career weaves a tapestry of innovation beyond "painter" or "musician." At the intersection of tradition, technology, and human connection, he stands as a pioneer, echoing resilience through quiet calligraphy strokes and digital reverberations in a shifting world.