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 1994, Shinya Azuma is a Japanese artist based in Kyoto, Japan. 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 seize 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: YOROSHIKU 夜露死苦, Galerie Marguo (Paris, FR 2024); 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, MIYASHITA PARK, and 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

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

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
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