Biography

Exhibitions

Selected Exhibitions

2016
Spring Masters New York, USA
2017
Keisho-ha IV: A New Materialism, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

TEFAF New York Spring, USA

rewind – osamu yokoyama – Debut Exhibition, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

Art Miami, USA (’18, ’22, ’23)
2018
TEFAF Maastricht, The Netherlands (’19, ’20, ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25)

Seattle Art Fair, USA (’19, ’22, ’23, ’24, ’25)

Yufuku Gallery NYC Pop-Up, USA
2019
silhouettes of you – osamu yokoyama – Solo Exhibition, Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

Silhouettes of Tomorrow, Yufuku Gallery, London, UK

West Bund Art and Design, Shanghai, China (’20, ’22, ’23)
2020
Opening Ceremony, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
2021
Art Fair Tokyo, Japan

The Armory Show, New York, USA (’24, ’25)

Untitled Art Miami Beach, USA

The Secret Show, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

RE:OPENING CEREMONY, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

The Elemental – Music of the Spheres –, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

The First Suzhou Craft Biennale, China
2022
A Lighthouse called Kanata New York Pop-Up, USA

Masterpiece London, UK

The Future Eternal – a special exhibition for DESIGNART TOKYO, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

Culture City of East Asia 2022 OITA – Japan・China・Korea’s Contemporary Artist Exchange Exhibition in OITA 2022, Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Japan
2023
ART SG, Singapore (’24)

Visions of the Sea, Kanata at MIKIMOTO New York, USA

Visions of the Sky, Kanata at Didier Aaron New York, USA

Beyond the Abstract World: From Yufuku to Kanata, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

The Treasure House Fair, London, UK (’25)

Tokyo Gendai, Japan (’24)
2024
INFINI – Infinity in Material, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

Taipei Dangdai, Taiwan (’25)

A PRELUDE TO MIDSUMMER – A Kanata Summer Exhibition, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan
2025
RINN / 輪 Ireland and Japan: a dialogue on making, place and time. New Embassy of Ireland, Ireland House, Tokyo, Japan

OPENING CEREMONY II, A Lighthouse called Kanata, Tokyo, Japan

Nicolai Bergmann 25th EXHIBTION “KUMIAWASE—Five Days Weaving 25 Years of Creative Journey Through 25 Floral Art Combinations”, Yodobashi J6 Building, Tokyo, Japan

Awards

New Artist Award, The 20th Japan Bamboo Art Exhibition
Honourable Award, The 55th Japan Crafts Exhibition
Award of Excellence, The 21st Japan Bamboo Art Exhibition
Grand Prize, The 23rd Japan Bamboo Art Exhibition
Gaoxin Award, The First Suzhou Craft Biennale, China

Public Collections

The Klorfine Foundation, USA
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Rockbund Art Museum, China
Embassy of Ireland, Tokyo, Japan
Naej Collection

Selected Commission Works

Tokiwabashi Tower, Japan

横山修 Osamu
Yokoyama Osamu
Yokoyama

scribble (2020)

H115 x W60 x D52 cm / H45 x W23 x D20 in

PLAY VIDEO

Osamu
Yokoyama

Profile

1980 Born in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
2016 Apprenticeship, Jin Morigami Studio
Lives and works in Beppu

01 Exhibitions More
02 Awards More
03 Public Collections More

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About
the ArtistAbout
the Artist

The aesthetics enshrined within the material of bamboo – its lustre, strength and resilience, represent the foundations of Japanese beauty, cherished for centuries on this island nation in the world of tea and in the daily rhythms of everyday life. Yet at the same time, bamboo has come to symbolise the very persona of Japan and the Japanese people, who have endured with steadfast resilience the hardships borne from both human and natural disasters. Bamboo, however, is not simply a material suited for the creation of traditional arts and crafts. Rather, a new generation of artists have wielded the material with a new-found vigour, breathing life into its unique textures as a compelling material within contemporary art. The youthful Osamu Yokoyama (b. 1980 –) is one such artist, who finds within bamboo an ideal material for self-expression. For it is within its bends and curves, its ability to be cut, bound and stretched to its limits, that one can find the meandering, ethereal and poignant vicissitudes of life itself.

Yokoyama does not hail from a storied lineage or distinct tradition, unlike many of the 3rd or 4th generation bamboo artists working today. Instead, Yokoyama was a graphic designer who eschewed a salaried position to delve into the world of bamboo, taking his wife and young daughter to Beppu, the mecca of Japanese bamboo art, and apprenticing to leading bamboo artist Jin Morigami. To capture a beauty unable to be expressed by any other means, Yokoyama wields bamboo with the resolute urgency of now.