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Biography

横山修 Osamu
Yokoyama
Osamu
Yokoyama

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

About
the Artist
About
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.