
Rina Murao (b. 1975, Nagoya, Japan) is a sculptor based in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. She studied sculpture at Alfred University (BFA, 1998) and received her MFA (2002) and DFA (2006) from Tokyo University of the Arts. She is currently Associate Professor at Aichi University of the Arts.
Her work explores how human spatiality—the relationships between humans and their surroundings—can be embodied in sculpture. Recent projects explore the psychological distance between human space and the horizon. In her Balcony series, she uses the balcony as a metaphor for a part of the human psyche, marking the boundary between psychological and physical, or personal and extra-personal space.
Murao has received the Nomura Art Prize and grants from foundations including the Nitto Foundation, the Nomura Foundation, the Hibi Science Foundation, and the Toyoaki Scholarship Foundation. Her works are in the collection of the University Art Museum of Tokyo University of the Arts.
