Cuisine Existentielle, by Lei Saito

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Based on the concept of ‘existential cuisine’, Lei Saito creates a performance and an installation – an edible landscape – that starts from an investigation into the physicality of the city of Lisbon and its various resources, from markets to creative restaurants.

The composition is a hybrid between culinary traditions, eras and flavours that form a new story, seeking to create an interaction between the audience members, who participate in the activation of the work.

Image © Lei Saito

Japanese artist Lei Saito has lived and worked in Paris since 2003, having studied in Japan and France, as well as being resident artist at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Saito developed the edible landscape Cuisine Existentielle, a series of culinary performances and installations. His work is built around a complex series of references and meanings, with connections to art history, mythology and language. Her artistic practice aims to provoke interaction between people and give the public a sensory experience.


Engawa – A season of contemporary art from Japan

‘Engawa’ is a programming that brings to Lisbon a set of creators from Japan and the Japanese diaspora, many of them for the first time in Portugal. More info

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation reserves the right to collect and keep records of images, sounds and voice for the diffusion and preservation of the memory of its cultural and artistic activity. For further information, please contact us through the Information Request form.

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