Overview

I often draw humans. We say humans, but there are many people. I portray drunken locals, clergy, or sometimes myself. Each person has something contradictory, such as sacred/vulgar, or beautiful/ugly, but they are equivalent inside a painting - all beings depicted by material paint.

 

— Shinya Azuma

 

Born in 1994, Shinya Azuma is a Kyoto-based Japanese artist whose practice transforms everyday observations—sketches, fleeting images from daily life, natural landscapes, and even news broadcasts—into striking canvases defined by bold brushstrokes. His unadorned paintings captivate with their unconventional palette, vibrant textures, and a wry, ironic humor, creating a visual language that both puzzles and enthralls.

Azuma’s work spans a broad spectrum of themes, from wealth disparity to intimate reflections on personal sexuality, each piece illuminating facets of the human condition. His distinctive humor—akin to the satirical bite or self-deprecating edge of social media memes—lends his art an immediate, relatable allure. In recent years, he has expanded his oeuvre beyond painting, crafting sculptures from wood and ceramics that further broaden his expressive range.

Azuma’s talent garnered notice from collectors and curators in Japan as early as his graduate student days. His recent exhibitions include solo shows such as Breaking Out: Shinya Azuma’s Guide to Surviving the Absurd City at Bao Foundation, Shanghai, China (2025 upcoming); YOROSHIKU 夜露死苦 at Galerie Marguo, Paris, France (2024); anonymous collection at Zero Base Jingumae, Tokyo, Japan (2024); and Shame: Inevitable Man at COHJU, Kyoto, Japan (2022). He has also featured in group exhibitions like To Dust You Shall Return at Coma Gallery, Chippendale, Australia (2024) and The Echoes of East Kyoto at WHAT CAFE, Tokyo, Japan (2024). Other notable solo presentations include Throw a Knuckleball from the Jungle at EUKARYOTE, Tokyo (2021) and Human. Human? Human! at COHJU, Kyoto (2020). His works reside in prestigious collections, including Bao Foundation, Hong Kong, Takahashi Ryutaro Collection, Japan, MIYASHITA PARK, Japan and the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Japan.

 

Born in 1994, Shinya Azuma is a Japanese artist based in Kyoto, Japan. A graduate of the Master's program in Contemporary Art at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, Azuma's work draws from sketeches and images he encounters in daily life, natural sceneries, or even news programs, re-imagined on canvas with bold brush strokes. Unembellished, Azuma's paintings are doted for their peculiar color usage, dynamic texture, and ironic sense of humour — an unorthodox combination which seizes the eyes in a state of perplexion.

The themes of Azuma's works draw from a wide range of issues such as wealth inequality to even personal sexual experiences, but all subjects capture various aspects of humanity. Like memes on social media, the distinctive type of humor which can be regarded as satire or self-deprecating sarcasm is one of the attractions of his works. In recent years, the artist has also started creating sculptures made of wood and ceramics, expanding his range of expression beyond two-dimensional paintings.

 

Azuma's works have attracted the attention of collectors and art professionals in Japan as early as when he was a graduate student. His recent solo exhibitions include: Breaking Out: Shinya Azuma’s Guide to Surviving the Absurd City, Bao Foundation, Shanghai, CN (2025, solo); YOROSHIKU 夜露死苦, Galerie Marguo, Paris, FR (2024, solo); anonymous collection, Zero Base Jingumae, Tokyo, Japan (2024, solo); To Dust You Shall Return, Coma Gallery, Chippendale, AU (2024, group); 幸 - Happy, COHJU, Kyoto, JP (2024); The Echoes of East Kyoto, WHAT CAFE, Tokyo, JP (2024, group); Shame: Inevitable Man, COHJU, Kyoto, JP (2022, solo); Throw a knuckleball from the jungle, EUKARYOTE, Tokyo, JP (2021, solo); Joint technique, Seibu Shibuya Art Gallery, Tokyo, JP (2020, solo); and Human. Human? Human!, COHJU, Kyoto, JP (2020, solo). Azuma’s work is held in the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection, Japan, MIYASHITA PARK, Japan and Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Japan.

 
 
Biography

Born 1994 in Osaka, Japan. Lives and works in Kyoto, Japan

 

Education

2020

MFA, Kyoto University of Art & Design, Kyoto, Japan

2018

BFA, Kyoto University Art & Design, Kyoto, Japan

 

Solo Exhibitions

2024

Galerie Marguo, YOROSHIKU 夜露死苦, Paris, France

 

Zero Base Jingumae, anonymous collection, Tokyo, Japan

2022

COHJU contemporary art, Shame: Inevitable Man, Kyoto, Japan

2021

EUKARYOTE, Throw a knuckleball from the jungle, Tokyo, Japan

2020

Seibu Shibuya Art Gallery, Joint technique, Tokyo, Japan

 

COHJU contemporary art, Human. Human? Human!, Kyoto, Japan

 

Group Exhibitions

2024

The Museum of Kyoto, Kyoto Art for Tomorrow 2025, Kyoto, Japan

 

WHAT CAFE, The Echoes of East Kyoto, Tokyo, Japan

 

COHJU, 幸 – Happy, Kyoto, Japan

2023

COHJU contemporay art, Untitled Art, Miami, FL

 

Galerie Marguo, ART021 Contemporary Art Fair, Shanghai, China

 

COHJU contemporary art, Art Collaboration Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

 

Galerie Marguo, Art Paris 2023, Paris, France

2022

COHJU contemporary art, Art Collaboration Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

 

COHJU contemporary art, ART FAIR TOKYO, Tokyo, Japan

 2021

COHJU contemporary art, Untitled Art Miami Beach, Miami, FL

 

COHJU contemporary art, Art Collaboration Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

 

Biscuit Gallery, Welcome to the Painting Jungle, Tokyo, Japan

 

COHJU contemporary art, ART OSAKA, Osaka, Japan

 

COHJU contemporary art, JET STREAM LOGIC, Kyoto, Japan

 

MtK Contemporary Art, young okazaki vol.01, Kyoto, Japan

 

COHJU contemporary art, ART FAIR TOKYO, Tokyo, Japan

 

SEIBU SHIBUYAnine colors XV, Tokyo, Japan

 

COHJU contemporary art, ART TNZ produced by AFT with APCA, Tokyo, Japan

 

nichido contemporary art, KANSAI VOICES, Tokyo, Japan

 

yuge, Social insurance and the Sphinx, Kyoto, Japan

 

EUKARYOTE, Gods left hand, Devils right hand, Tokyo, Japan

 

EUKARYOTE, YAE, Tokyo, Japan

 

Collections

Takahashi Ryutaro Collection, Japan

sequence MIYASHITA PARK, Japan

Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Japan

 

Works
  • Beach shower
    Shinya Azuma
    Beach shower, 2024
    Oil on canvas
    116.7 x 91 cm (46 x 35 ⅞ in)
  • Human(Purple)
    Shinya Azuma
    Human(Purple), 2024
    Oil on canvas
    53 x 45.5 cm (20 7/8 x 17 7/8 in)
  • ROUND1 Ready fight!! (KARATE)
    Shinya Azuma
    ROUND1 Ready fight!! (KARATE), 2024
    Oil on canvas
    194 x 259 cm (76 3/8 x 102 in)
  • Snoopys
    Shinya Azuma
    Snoopys, 2024
    Oil on canvas
    162 x 130.3 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/4 in)
  • Tiger killer
    Shinya Azuma
    Tiger killer, 2024
    Oil on canvas
    116.7 x 91 cm (46 x 35 7/8 in)
  • Trivial resistance
    Shinya Azuma
    Trivial resistance, 2024
    Oil on canvas
    91 x 72.7 cm (35 7/8 x 28 5/8 in)
  • Flower Cutter
    Shinya Azuma
    Flower Cutter, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    162 x 130 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 in)
  • Otaku Guy
    Shinya Azuma
    Otaku Guy, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    53 x 45.5 cm (20 7/8 x 17 7/8 in)
  • Phoenix and Man
    Shinya Azuma
    Phoenix and Man, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    116.7 x 91 cm (46 x 35 7/8 in)
  • Piss Mixer
    Shinya Azuma
    Piss Mixer, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    53 x 45.5 cm (20 7/8 x 17 7/8 in)
  • Smokers Ectoplasm
    Shinya Azuma
    Smokers Ectoplasm, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    53 x 45.5 cm (20 7/8 x 17 7/8 in)
  • Watermelon Eater
    Shinya Azuma
    Watermelon Eater, 2023
    Oil on canvas
    162 x 130 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 in)
  • Black hole watcher
    Shinya Azuma
    Black hole watcher, 2022
    Oil on canvas
    162 x 130 x 2.5 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 x 1 in)
  • Card Game (Spade A)
    Shinya Azuma
    Card Game (Spade A), 2022
    Oil on canvas
    162 x 130 x 2.5 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 x 1 in)
  • Eden
    Shinya Azuma
    Eden, 2022
    Oil on canvas
    162 x 130.3 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/4 in)
  • Exodus (Highway)
    Shinya Azuma
    Exodus (Highway), 2022
    Oil on canvas
    145.5 x 112 cm (57 1/4 x 44 1/8 in)
  • Go straight
    Shinya Azuma
    Go straight, 2022
    Oil on canvas
    162 x 130.3 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/4 in)
  • In the hole
    Shinya Azuma
    In the hole, 2022
    Oil on canvas
    116.7 x 91 cm (46 x 35 7/8 in)
  • Pressure Human
    Shinya Azuma
    Pressure Human, 2022
    Oil on canvas
    91 x 72.7 x 2.5 cm (35 7/8 x 28 5/8 x 1 in)
  • Human (Double mask)
    Shinya Azuma
    Human (Double mask), 2021
    Oil on canvas
    53 x 45.5 cm (20 7/8 x 17 7/8 in)
  • Sexy Time
    Shinya Azuma
    Sexy Time, 2021
    Oil on canvas
    53 x 45.5 cm (20 7/8 x 17 7/8 in)
  • Three Piece Thief
    Shinya Azuma
    Three Piece Thief, 2021
    Oil on canvas
    112 x 145.5 x 5.5 cm (44 1/8 x 57 1/4 x 2 1/8 in)
  • Another dimension
    Shinya Azuma
    Another dimension, 2020
    Oil on canvas
    91 x 72.7 cm (35 7/8 x 28 5/8 in)
  • End of the World
    Shinya Azuma
    End of the World, 2020
    Oil on canvas
    53 x 45.5 cm (20 7/8 x 17 7/8 in)
  • For Free
    Shinya Azuma
    For Free, 2020
    Oil on canvas
    116.7 x 91 cm (46 x 35 7/8 in)
  • Foward cat
    Shinya Azuma
    Foward cat, 2019
    Oil on canvas
    45.5 x 53 cm (17 7/8 x 20 7/8 in)
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