Kojima Osamu

BiographyOsamu Kojima was born in 1973, Fukui, Japan, and currently lives and works inTaipei, Taiwan, where he did his Master of Arts in Tainan National University of theArts. Read More

Working with clay for almost 20 years, there is a fine line that separates the organic and the manufactured in his artworks. Even though there is a clear and immediate association with nature and its landscapes, his work is also deeply influenced by his thoughts on society, nostalgia and memories from the past. In his words:“Manufactured materials carry memories of human life, and even ruins still emit the light of civilization. (…)”.The association with nature and the feeling of natural scenery comes from the material and artistic process itself. For his artworks, the artists collect clay from the mountains and burns it in its original organic form. After a process of several steps he then puts together many burnt pieces and burns them together, letting the pieces grow. While doing so he pays a lot of attention to gravitational forces, always pushing the balance point to the edge of collapse and then keeping these moments of tension.Osamu Kojima’s work is highly appreciated in view of the impressive domain of the clay and the glaze. Relevant awards include Gold Prize (2012) and the Grand Prize (2016) at Taiwan Ceramics Biennale; Bronze Award (2005 and 2014), 7th and 10th International Ceramics Exhibition Mino, Gifu, Japan; 17th Shumei Cultural Foundation Prize, Shiga, Japan. His work is represented in the collections of the KYOCERA Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan; Archie Bray Foundation, MT, U.S.A.; New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan, among others.