Shinya Azuma Japan, b. 1994

Born in Osaka in 1994 where he still lives, Shinya Azuma is a Japanese artist who works in Kyoto, Japan. He holds a master’s degree in Contemporary Art from the Kyoto University of Art and Design. Azuma makes a sketch of images inspired by the news programs or sceneries in daily life through his experience and remakes them on canvas with bold brush strokes. Azuma’s simple paintings with peculiar color usage and dynamic texture of the medium have quirkiness somehow, and vigor which stops us to see the picture.

The themes of the works range from some well-timed serious issues such as wealth inequality or protests, to personal sexual experiences, but they all capture various aspects of humanity. Like memes on social media, the distinctive type of humor which can be both satire and self-deprecating sarcasm is one of the attractions of his works. From 2021, he has started to create sculpture made of wood and ceramics, expanding his range of expression beyond two-dimensional works.

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: ‘Shame: Inevitable Man,’ COHJU contemporary art (Kyoto, JP 2022); ‘Throw a knuckleball from the jungle,’ EUKARYOTE (Tokyo, JP 2021); ‘Joint technique,’ Seibu Shibuya Art Gallery (Tokyo, JP 2020); and ‘Human. Human? Human!,’ COHJU contemporary art (Kyoto, JP 2020). Azuma’s work is held in the Takahashi Ryutaro Collection, Japan, sequence MIYASHITA PARK, Japan and Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Japan.