exhibition
30 August 2022 > 18 September 2022

videogalleryRadicalsKazuo Ōno

videogallery – free entrance
curated by Irene de Vico Fallani, Giulia Lopalco

opening hours

Monday closed
Tuesday to Sunday 11 am – 7 pm

more information

Choreographer and inspirer of Butō dance, one of the most experimental and innovative artistic expressions born in post-war Japan.

Based on the fundamental concepts of the dead body and freedom, the ‘dance of darkness’ of Kazuo Ōno (Hokkaido, 1906 – Yokohama, 2010) celebrates the pure liberation of the human soul from any form of physical and cultural coercion. The trilogy of experimental films presented at MAXXI was born between the 1960s and 1970s when Ōno began collaborating with the director Nagano Chiaki after retiring from the stage.

film screening:

Tuesday 30 August to Sunday 4 September, 4:30 pm
Portrait of Mr. O, 1969
duration: 65 min

Tuesday 6 to Sunday 11 September, 4:30 pm
Mandala of Mr. O, 1971
duration: 122 min

Tuesday 13 to Sunday 18 September, 4:30 pm
Book of the Dead of Mr. O, 1973
duration: 88 min


On the occasion of the TOKYO REVISITED exhibition, a special screening of films by directors and creatives who share with Daido Moriyama a countercurrent, revolutionary and never conventional look at Japan. The pop and surreal character of Seijun Suzuki (19 July > 7 August), the more rigorous and austere nature of Kaneto Shindō (9 > 28 August) and the mystical essence of Kazuo Ōno’s Butō dance (30 August > 18 September) represent different manifestations of a common need to narrate the duality of post-war Japan, to bring to light the shadows and fragility of existence, to break taboos, and to reaffirm the individual’s freedom of choice and expression.

header: Kazuo Ōno, photo by Bob Fujisaki