For over three decades, Masami Yoshioka has created paintings, drawings, and installation works that explore both the abstract and the figurative, thus resisting categorization. Utilizing textures, colors, and space, Yoshioka develops unique pieces that remain elusive of any descriptive narrative but are characterized by his concepts of time and consciousness.
In 1982, Yoshioka began making his now-signature tape installations. The installations are made by stretching overlapping lengths of tape diagonally, vertically, and horizontally in varied configurations using only light and shadow as guides. The results are powerful two-dimensional works that evoke a sculptural presence. Yoshioka’s installations both incorporate and challenge their physical surroundings with consistency and ingenuity, at once enhancing the space with its expressionistic impact and rejecting it with its autonomy. Similarly, Yoshioka’s paintings are also highly acclaimed and refreshingly abstract creations.
In 2011, Yoshioka established the Steps Gallery in the Ginza district of Tokyo, where both renowned and rising artists have exhibited works that, in keeping with Yoshioka’s own approach to art, offer their own unique perspective on contemporary art.
Yoshioka’s works have been the subject of several exhibitions at prominent institutions both domestic and abroad, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the Daejeon Museum of Art in South Korea in 2008.
Works by the artist are represented in major museum collections both domestically and internationally, including the Yamagata Museum of Art in Japan and Schema Art Museum in South Korea. He continues to display his works in Tokyo, New York, Germany, France, South Korea, and other prominent international art venues.
In 1982, Yoshioka began making his now-signature tape installations. The installations are made by stretching overlapping lengths of tape diagonally, vertically, and horizontally in varied configurations using only light and shadow as guides. The results are powerful two-dimensional works that evoke a sculptural presence. Yoshioka’s installations both incorporate and challenge their physical surroundings with consistency and ingenuity, at once enhancing the space with its expressionistic impact and rejecting it with its autonomy. Similarly, Yoshioka’s paintings are also highly acclaimed and refreshingly abstract creations.
In 2011, Yoshioka established the Steps Gallery in the Ginza district of Tokyo, where both renowned and rising artists have exhibited works that, in keeping with Yoshioka’s own approach to art, offer their own unique perspective on contemporary art.
Yoshioka’s works have been the subject of several exhibitions at prominent institutions both domestic and abroad, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the Daejeon Museum of Art in South Korea in 2008.
Works by the artist are represented in major museum collections both domestically and internationally, including the Yamagata Museum of Art in Japan and Schema Art Museum in South Korea. He continues to display his works in Tokyo, New York, Germany, France, South Korea, and other prominent international art venues.
1956 Born in Yamagata, Japan
1981 Graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University, Education Faculty Art Department
Major Solo Exhibitions:
1982 Kaneko Art GI [’83, ’88] Tokyo, Japan
1984 Tokiwa Gallery [’86, ’88, ’91, ’98] (Tokyo, Japan); Lumiere Gallery (Yamagata, Japan)
1993 Kaneko Art Gallery [’94, ’97, ’00] (Tokyo, Japan)
1995 KOBO [’98, ’01] (Tokyo, Japan)
1996 Gallery Ashi (Yamagata, Japan)
1999 Medicine Woman Photographic Exhibition, KOBO (Tokyo, Japan)
2000 Gallery Mutsu (Chiba, Japan)
2003 SOL, (Tokyo, Japan)
2004 KOBO (Tokyo, Japan)
2005 Gallery Mutsu (Chiba, Japan); Gallery f-bun-no-ichi (Tokyo, Japan); Gallery Ashi (Yamagata, Japan)
2006 Medicine Woman Photographic Exhibition/PIGA Gallery (Tokyo, Japan); SOL, (Tokyo, Japan)
2007 KOBO (Tokyo, Japan); Cealum Gallery (NY)
2010 Cealum Gallery (NY); KOBO (Tokyo, Japan)
2011 Gallery Mutsu (Chiba, Japan)
2012 Gallery 58 + Steps Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2013 EISFABRIK (Hanover, Germany); Cealum Gallery (NY)
2014 The Secret Memory, Mizenka Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
Major Group Exhibitions:
1985 Crossing ’85 (Kaneko Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
1986 Mizai (Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan); Kibo no Mori no Aki ’89 (Fukushima, Japan)
1990 Landscape in Iwaki (Fukushima, Japan); Kaso Monument ’90 (Kaneko Art GI, Tokyo, Japan)
1991 Lake Naguri Open-Air Art Exhibition (Saitama, Japan); International Impact Art Festival ’91 (Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan); Takizawa Art Field ’91 (Iwate, Japan)
1993 Urban Environment Art Fair (Dilipa Gallery, Kyoto, Japan)
1995 Shinsetai no Kohin-ten (Kaneko Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan); Lake Naguri Open-Air Art Exhibition (Saitama, Japan)
1996 Selection Exhibition (Kaneko Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan); Meridian ’96 (Fukushima, Japan)
1997 Lake Naguri Open-Air Art Exhibition (Saitama, Japan); Shibayama International Open-Air Exhibition of Art (Chiba, Japan); Selection Exhibition (Kaneko Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
1998 Rinkai-iki (Funabashi Citizens Gallery, Chiba, Japan); Arts Contemporains Japonais (Lyon, France)
1999 Northern Exposure New Art from Japan (San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art/Adelaide Global Gallery, USA)
Sore-zore No (Photographs)-Interpretation and Expression, Masami Yoshioka and Hidenori Yatsu Exhibition, Orange Juice (Gallery Moe, Tokyo, Japan)
Cheju International Island Art Exhibition (Korea)
TAMA VIVANT ’99 (Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan)
2000 Pacific Rim Art Now 2000 (Otaru City Museum of Art Citizen Gallery, Otaru, Japan)
Chiba Art Flash (Citizen Gallery INAGE, Chiba, Japan)
2001 Sore-zore no Monogatari (Funabashi Citizens Gallery, Chiba, Japan)
2002 ArtCocktail2002 (Gallery & Space AGITT, Tokyo, Japan)
Pacific Rim Art Now ’03 Prologue Exhibition (Continental Gallery, Sapporo, Japan)
Pacific Rim Art Now ’03 (Otaru City Museum of Art Citizens Gallery, Otaru, Japan)
My Camera, My Style, My Photo (Art Space Saga, Kyoto, Japan)
ArtCocktail2003 (Yamawaki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
2004 Pacific Rim Art Now; japan/usa (works, San Jose, USA); Petit SOL (Gallery SOL, Tokyo, Japan)
My Camera, My Style, My Photo (Art Space Saga, Kyoto, Japan)
2005 ArtCocktail2005 (Yamawaki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
Shunpu Nagasaki Yori VII (Nagasaki Brick Hole Gallery, Nagasaki, Japan)
Descending Images (Yamagata Museum of Art)
2006 ArtCocktail2006 (Kasama City, Ibaraki, Japan); My Camera, My Style, My Photo (Art Space Saga, Kyoto, Japan)
2007 Five Senses Art Labo (The Miyagi Museum of Art Citizens Gallery)
2008 Inter infiltration, Kazuyuki Uno vs. Masami Yoshioka (KOBO, Tokyo, Japan)
Alone, +35 People’s Original Scenery (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan)
TAMA VIVANT II 2008 Seeds of Images (Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan)
3 East Asian Countries Present Age Artists Exhibition - Cheongju 2008 (Daejeon Museum of Art, Korea)
2009 Shunpu Nagasaki Yori X (Nagasaki Brick Hole Gallery, Nagasaki, Japan)
ArtCocktail2009 (Kasama City, Ibaraki, Japan)
2010 Art Ground Battle – OVER TONE II (Kanagawa Kenmin Hall Gallery, Yokohama, Japan)
3 East Asian Countries Present Age Artists Exhibition - Cheongju 2010 (Schema Art Museum, Korea)
2011 BUMP INTO (Four Face Space Gallery, Beijing, China)
2013 Coming Across Beijing (Steps Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
2014 Triple Chat (Steps Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
Workshops:
2005 Creating with tape (Tokyo Gakugei University) Sponsor・Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tama District Arts and Crafts Education Workshop
2011 Let’s Installation, Tips on Exhibiting (Fuchu City Wakamatsu Elementary School) Sponsor ・Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tama District Arts and Crafts Education Workshop
Works in private collections at:
Yamagata Museum of Art (Yamagata, Japan)
Schema Art Museum (Korea)
Shiokawa Yahata Hills Clinic (Shizuoka, Japan)
1981 Graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University, Education Faculty Art Department
Major Solo Exhibitions:
1982 Kaneko Art GI [’83, ’88] Tokyo, Japan
1984 Tokiwa Gallery [’86, ’88, ’91, ’98] (Tokyo, Japan); Lumiere Gallery (Yamagata, Japan)
1993 Kaneko Art Gallery [’94, ’97, ’00] (Tokyo, Japan)
1995 KOBO [’98, ’01] (Tokyo, Japan)
1996 Gallery Ashi (Yamagata, Japan)
1999 Medicine Woman Photographic Exhibition, KOBO (Tokyo, Japan)
2000 Gallery Mutsu (Chiba, Japan)
2003 SOL, (Tokyo, Japan)
2004 KOBO (Tokyo, Japan)
2005 Gallery Mutsu (Chiba, Japan); Gallery f-bun-no-ichi (Tokyo, Japan); Gallery Ashi (Yamagata, Japan)
2006 Medicine Woman Photographic Exhibition/PIGA Gallery (Tokyo, Japan); SOL, (Tokyo, Japan)
2007 KOBO (Tokyo, Japan); Cealum Gallery (NY)
2010 Cealum Gallery (NY); KOBO (Tokyo, Japan)
2011 Gallery Mutsu (Chiba, Japan)
2012 Gallery 58 + Steps Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2013 EISFABRIK (Hanover, Germany); Cealum Gallery (NY)
2014 The Secret Memory, Mizenka Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
Major Group Exhibitions:
1985 Crossing ’85 (Kaneko Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
1986 Mizai (Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan); Kibo no Mori no Aki ’89 (Fukushima, Japan)
1990 Landscape in Iwaki (Fukushima, Japan); Kaso Monument ’90 (Kaneko Art GI, Tokyo, Japan)
1991 Lake Naguri Open-Air Art Exhibition (Saitama, Japan); International Impact Art Festival ’91 (Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan); Takizawa Art Field ’91 (Iwate, Japan)
1993 Urban Environment Art Fair (Dilipa Gallery, Kyoto, Japan)
1995 Shinsetai no Kohin-ten (Kaneko Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan); Lake Naguri Open-Air Art Exhibition (Saitama, Japan)
1996 Selection Exhibition (Kaneko Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan); Meridian ’96 (Fukushima, Japan)
1997 Lake Naguri Open-Air Art Exhibition (Saitama, Japan); Shibayama International Open-Air Exhibition of Art (Chiba, Japan); Selection Exhibition (Kaneko Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
1998 Rinkai-iki (Funabashi Citizens Gallery, Chiba, Japan); Arts Contemporains Japonais (Lyon, France)
1999 Northern Exposure New Art from Japan (San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art/Adelaide Global Gallery, USA)
Sore-zore No (Photographs)-Interpretation and Expression, Masami Yoshioka and Hidenori Yatsu Exhibition, Orange Juice (Gallery Moe, Tokyo, Japan)
Cheju International Island Art Exhibition (Korea)
TAMA VIVANT ’99 (Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan)
2000 Pacific Rim Art Now 2000 (Otaru City Museum of Art Citizen Gallery, Otaru, Japan)
Chiba Art Flash (Citizen Gallery INAGE, Chiba, Japan)
2001 Sore-zore no Monogatari (Funabashi Citizens Gallery, Chiba, Japan)
2002 ArtCocktail2002 (Gallery & Space AGITT, Tokyo, Japan)
Pacific Rim Art Now ’03 Prologue Exhibition (Continental Gallery, Sapporo, Japan)
Pacific Rim Art Now ’03 (Otaru City Museum of Art Citizens Gallery, Otaru, Japan)
My Camera, My Style, My Photo (Art Space Saga, Kyoto, Japan)
ArtCocktail2003 (Yamawaki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
2004 Pacific Rim Art Now; japan/usa (works, San Jose, USA); Petit SOL (Gallery SOL, Tokyo, Japan)
My Camera, My Style, My Photo (Art Space Saga, Kyoto, Japan)
2005 ArtCocktail2005 (Yamawaki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
Shunpu Nagasaki Yori VII (Nagasaki Brick Hole Gallery, Nagasaki, Japan)
Descending Images (Yamagata Museum of Art)
2006 ArtCocktail2006 (Kasama City, Ibaraki, Japan); My Camera, My Style, My Photo (Art Space Saga, Kyoto, Japan)
2007 Five Senses Art Labo (The Miyagi Museum of Art Citizens Gallery)
2008 Inter infiltration, Kazuyuki Uno vs. Masami Yoshioka (KOBO, Tokyo, Japan)
Alone, +35 People’s Original Scenery (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan)
TAMA VIVANT II 2008 Seeds of Images (Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan)
3 East Asian Countries Present Age Artists Exhibition - Cheongju 2008 (Daejeon Museum of Art, Korea)
2009 Shunpu Nagasaki Yori X (Nagasaki Brick Hole Gallery, Nagasaki, Japan)
ArtCocktail2009 (Kasama City, Ibaraki, Japan)
2010 Art Ground Battle – OVER TONE II (Kanagawa Kenmin Hall Gallery, Yokohama, Japan)
3 East Asian Countries Present Age Artists Exhibition - Cheongju 2010 (Schema Art Museum, Korea)
2011 BUMP INTO (Four Face Space Gallery, Beijing, China)
2013 Coming Across Beijing (Steps Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
2014 Triple Chat (Steps Gallery, Tokyo, Japan)
Workshops:
2005 Creating with tape (Tokyo Gakugei University) Sponsor・Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tama District Arts and Crafts Education Workshop
2011 Let’s Installation, Tips on Exhibiting (Fuchu City Wakamatsu Elementary School) Sponsor ・Tokyo Metropolitan Government Tama District Arts and Crafts Education Workshop
Works in private collections at:
Yamagata Museum of Art (Yamagata, Japan)
Schema Art Museum (Korea)
Shiokawa Yahata Hills Clinic (Shizuoka, Japan)
