Kenji Yanagita BIO:
Born in 1988, in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka, Japan. Due to his father´s transfer, he moved from Houfu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture to Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Besides devoting himself to study and club activities while in school, in order to fulfil his early childhood dreams, he studied the basics of art in private cram school for art university entrance examination located in his hometown. Finally, he was admitted to a major in sculpture in the art department in “zoukei” faculty at Tokyo Zoukei University, his interaction with various people has brought tremendous benefits to building his self-confidence, also specialized skills in the formative arts. Additionally, after graduation, his basics of pottery was formed in Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
On the one hand he was deeply proud of, and had honour to an old Japanese “Bushido-spirit” which is a set of Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism and forms the basis of kendo because of his experience that he continued practice hard at it between his school age and high school, on the other hand his great admiration for Western culture and art began to grow influenced by his junior high school English teacher, his grandfather on his father´s side who had an experience of studying in England. Furthermore, through interaction with foreign students from the Western countries while in his college life, his devotion to the culture and art got prominent. This was the reason why his grounding in artistic sensibility which has both an element of Japanese culture and that of Western was formed. Quite by chance, the Holy Bible caught his eye and left a profound impression upon him, finally, he was baptized at the age of thirty.
His works of art, for example, mainly almost life-sized praying human figure carved out of one camphor tree, small pieces of pottery, and those which are made with the techniques both of sculptures and pottery, and so on have a variety of forms of expression. In the contemporary trends of the day which requests speed, or streamlining from us, on wood sculptures he is concerned about carving them with chisels one by one very carefully and depends on a traditional Japanese techniques of sculptors of Buddhist images, also on works of pottery with techniques of sculpture he always keep making them one by one by hand very carefully in mind because of his thought that there do are true life wealth and happiness in something far from efficiency.
He will go on making his works of art sincerely, and too honestly on the theme of prayer, which is the most beautiful, precious, also pious act.
Award and Exhibitions:
Award:
2016 The 2th Haishakkei award
2017 The 55th anniversary art exhibition of the Ibaraki chapter of the Nika Art Exhibition Ibaraki newspaper award
2017 the art exhibition of the Ibaraki Prefecture (prize once)
2016-1019 Nika Art Exhibition (prize four times)
2019 The 57th art exhibition of the Ibaraki chapter of the Nika Art Exhibition Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly chairperson award
2022 The 28th Wood sculptures folk art Ooya competition (prize) [Yabu City Ooya hall, Yabu City of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, September 16(Fri)- October 2(Sun), 2022]
etc.
Exhibitions:
Sep 14-18, 2018 「 Exhibition of the five artists」Shonandai Gallery Roppongi, Japan
Aug 22-29, 2019 「 Exhibition of Hikari vol.3 with special thanks to X4」s＋arts Roppongi, Japan
April 6-12, 2021 「 Spring ART FESTA」MATSUYA GINZA Ginza, Japan
Sep 14-21, 2022 「Exhibition of Hikari vol.4」s＋arts Roppongi, Japan
Oct 3-8, 2022 「Felice -Regalo-」GALLERY AND LINKS 81.one Ginza, Japan
etc.
