Biography

Born in Osaka, Japan in 1981, Yuji Kumon is a physician and interdisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersections of health, society, and everyday life. After graduating from medical school, he moved to New York to further his medical training, where an encounter with art led him to begin his artistic practice. This early engagement evolved into a more sustained commitment, culminating in formal graduate study in painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Alongside his artistic career, he later pursued a Master of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, developing a research focus on social determinants of health and health equity. Currently based in the Kansai region of Japan, he works at the intersection of art and public health, integrating clinical practice, research in social epidemiology, and artistic production. His recent work engages with themes such as health disparities, social prescribing, and the embodied experience of everyday life.

Exhibitions

  • 08/14 – 08/25/2025: Everyday Eden, Gallery Neutral, Kyoto, Japan

  • 11/09 – 11/15/2020: Side By Side, Gummies Gallery, Seoul, South Korea

  • 11/28 – 12/05/2019: Desperate Surface, Untitled Space, Shanghai, China

  • 10/01 – 10/31/2019: Homesick Remedy, Kimura Clinic, Yamaguchi, Japan

  • 08/16 – 08/20/2019: Work in Progress, Camden Art Centre, London, UK

  • 09/21 – 10/17/2018: A City to Wear 2.0, The Research House for Asian Art, Chicago, USA

  • 04/28 – 05/14/2018: MFA Thesis Exhibition, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, USA

Artist in Residence / Other Art Programs

  • 2021 – 2022: DOOR – Diversity on the Arts Project, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan

  • 2019: The London Summer Intensive, Slade School of Fine Art / Camden Art Centre, London, UK

  • 2019: Artist-in-Residence, Untitled Space, Shanghai, China

Artist Talks

  • 2017: MFA Student Lecture, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

Education

  • Master of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA (Delta Omega Inductee)

  • Master of Fine Arts, Department of Painting and Drawing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

  • Bachelor of Medicine, Tokai University