TOP PAGE

Biography

Exhibitions

Selected Exhibitions

Awards

  • 1992　The 42nd Minister of Education and Culture Award for New Artist, Japan

  • 1994　International Award for Sculpture, Italy

  • 1995　Award of Pietrasanta of the World, Italy

  • 2001　Special Award of Puccini Foundation, Italy

  • 2002　The 9th Inoue Yasushi Cultural Award, Japan

  • 　　　The 15th Murano Togo Award for the Arte Piazza Bibai project, Japan

  • 　　　Award for Poem of Alpi Apuane, Italy

  • 2003　Special Award of Tuscany, Italy

  • 2008　Order of the Star of the Italian Solidarity (The honor of the Italian Republic)

  • 2009　Japan Award, Italia Japan Foundation

  • 2010　Hokkaido Shinbun Cultural Award, Japan

  • 　　　Giacomo Puccini Award, Puccini Foundation, Italy

  • 　　　Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award, Japan

  • 2013　Hokkaido Culture Award, Japan

  • 2015　Lifetime Achievement Award of Hokkaido, Japan

  • 2020　Architectural Institute of Japan Culture Award

  • 2025　Honorary Citizenship of Pietrasanta

  • 　　　 The Isamu Noguchi Award

Public Collections

Public Collections / Monuments

  • Fubon Art Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

  • Benesse Art Site Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan

  • Sezon Museum of Modern Art, Nagano, Japan

  • Sakata City Museum of Art, Yamagata, Japan

  • TOKI MESSE: Niigata Convention Center, Japan

  • Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum, Japan

  • Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK

  • Garachico, Spain

  • Aurola Place, Sydney, Australia

  • APEC Naru Park, Busan, South Korea

  • Citygarden, St.Louis, USA

  • 1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, USA

  • Pietrasanta Station, Italy

  • Trajan's Market, Rome, Italy

  • Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

  • Tokyo Midtown, Japan

  • Tokyo International Forum, Japan

  • Sapporo Station, Hokkaido, Japan

  • Sosei River Park, Hokkaido, Japan

  • Toya Lake, Hokkaido, Japan

  • Northern Horse Park, Hokkaido, Japan

  • Higashikawa Town, Hokkaido, Japan

  • Arte Piazza Bibai, Hokkaido, Japan

  • Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Hokkaido, Japan

  • Sapporo Art Museum, Hokkaido, Japan

  • Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan

  • Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan

  • Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Hyogo, Japan

安田侃 Kan
Yasuda Kan
Yasuda

TENPI (2023) |　Statuario white marble
H29 x W14 x D14 cm / H11.4 x W5.5 x D5.5 in
TENPI (2023)　|　Statuario white marble
Work dimensions: H88 x W55 x D19 cm | Pedestal dimensions: H109 x W60 x D42 cm
Kan
Yasuda
Profile
  • 1945 Born in Bibai City, Hokkaido Prefecture
  • 1969 MA, Tokyo University of the Arts
  • 1970 Lives and works in Pietrasanta, Italy
  • 01 Exhibitions More
  • 02 Awards More
  • 03 Public Collections More

About
the ArtistAbout
the Artist

Carving, shaping and polishing stone with the most subtle of touches, thereby accentuating the curves and textures of his marble with the supple, soft forms of nature, the solemn sculptures of Kan Yasuda (b. 1945 -) are serene stone poems that are carefully executed to stand the tests of time for centuries, if not millennia. With an eye to the future, yet with the resolute understanding of his material and its ancient history, Yasuda’s minimal sculptures, made predominantly with the pure white marble taken from the same quarries as Michelangelo, are made through deep conversations with his material, in a practice that is much like prayer itself. They are not sculpted to fit into a passing fad or trend, yet are made to withstand and even transcend the passing of time, seemingly melting into a certain space or environment as if it was there from the very beginning of existence, thereby taking down the boundaries between time, space, and man.
Having assisted the legendary Isamu Noguchi (1904 – 1988) in the creation of his seminal work Slide Mantra for the Venice Biennale in 1986, Isamu Noguchi says of Kan Yasuda: “Art’s art is the artist’s difficult conscience. It is his past development to which he owes all that he has become. It reveals his inner self, or so he thinks. But that of course is his most serious problem. How to develop in depth betrayals true message. It is the artist’s obligation to change into his ever widening perception. Kan has expressed it with his forked squares where he denies himself and all his skills.”
Kan Yasuda has received a multitude of accolades for his storied career including the Order of the Star of Solidarity by the Italian government in 2006, the Giacomo Puccini Award in 2010, and most recently the Architectural Institute of Japan Culture Award in 2020, among others. With work and monuments in public collections the world over including Naoshima in Japan, the Boboli Gardens in Florence and the Trajan’s Market in Rome, Garachico in Spain and 1251 Avenue of the Americas in NY, the artist is internationally renowned as one of the greatest living sculptors of Japan. Residing and working in Pietrasanta, Italy for nearly half of the year since 1970, A Lighthouse called Kanata is proud to be able to showcase Kan Yasuda’s talismanic works in marble at TEFAF Maastricht 2024.

WorksWorks

Back to Artists