Dead or alibe

Shinya Azuma makes a sketch of images inspired by the news programmes or sceneries in daily life through his experience, and remakes it on canvas with bold brush strokes. Azuma’s simple paintings with peculiar colour usage and dynamic texture of the medium have quirkiness somehow, and vigour which stops us to see the picture. The themes of the works range from some well-timed serious issues such as the wealth inequality or protests all over the world to personal sexual experiences, but they all capture different aspects of humanity. Like memes on social media, the distinctive type of humour which can be both of the satire and the self-deprecating sarcasm is one of the attractions on his works.


Shinya Azuma was born in Osaka in 1994, and currently based in Kyoto, Japan. Azuma received M.F.A in Contemporary Art from Kyoto University of Art and Design.