ARTIST PROFILE

Hongo Yoshiya

本郷芳哉
[ Japan ]

MESSAGE

At the heart of my creative process is the question: “What does it mean to be human?”
From this big question, many others arise, and each one becomes the starting point for a new work.
The time I spend working with materials is also a time of searching for answers to these questions.
The experiences I gain during this process build up inside me as real, lived moments.
As I go through the repeated steps of making, the ideas in my head begin to fade away, and the materials and the work itself start to speak in their own language.
I listen to that language and put it into form, bringing the sculpture to life.
Once the work exists, it stands on its own and confronts reality.
To me, this confrontation is much like facing again the question: “What does it mean to be human?”

PROFILE

Hongo Yoshiya [Japan]

Sculptor. Born in 1982 in Saitama, Japan. He graduated from the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, in 2009. In addition to solo exhibitions and art festivals, he has also produced many commissioned pieces.
From his perspectives on existence, borders, time, and nature, and through the physical sensations experienced in contact with the materials he uses in his works, Hongo ponders the question, ""What does living mean?""

Major exhibitions include ""Omuro Ninnaji 4.8 Art Project"" (Omuro Ninnaji Temple/Kyoto/2022), ""Blank"" (Gallery Seiho/Tokyo/2021), ""BOUNDARY-"" (YIRI ARTS Pier2 Space/Kaohsiung, Taiwan/2017), ""Nakanojo Biennale 2021"" (Former Sawada Elementary School, Gunma, Japan/2021), ""Convective Scenery"" (53 Art Museum, Guangzhou, China/2018), and others. Major collections include ALVA HOTEL BY ROYAL (Hong Kong), Mitsui Garden Hotel Jingu Gaien no Mori Premier (Tokyo), and Kasama Nichido Art Museum (Ibaraki).

PREVIOUS WORKS

LINKS