Kaz Oshiro

Kaz Oshiro is a Japanese-American artist based in Los Angeles, CA. His work resides between painting and sculpture, creating uncannily realistic objects that have ranged from a full-size replica of a dumpster to a mini fridge adorned with stickers, however, through the use of stretcher bars, canvas, and paint.^[1]

His work has been exhibited at museums and galleries including Apex Art, the Swiss Institute and the Asia Society and Museum in New York, the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, the Orange County Museum of Art, UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Royal Academy in London, and Veletrzni Palace in Prague.^[2] His work appears in Lifelike, a group show at the Walker Art Center, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and the Blanton Museum of Art.^[3]

Oshiro is represented by Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Santa Monica, California and in Paris by Galerie Frank Elbaz.

Biography[edit]

Born 1967 in Okinawa, Japan, Oshiro emigrated to the United States in 1986 and studied at California State University, Los Angeles, graduating with a BA in 1998 and an MFA in 2002.^[2]

Artwork[edit]

Oshiro's work rides the fine line between sculpture and real life objects. What may initially appear to be an everyday fast food trash can or a set of guitar amplifiers, a closer look will reveal to viewers that the piece itself is merely a painting on a custom stretched and created canvas. Complete with details made to resemble time and human's impact on these objects (i.e. markings to resemble scratches and tears, dust, etc.), his work uses a realist technique for the paintings to blend seamlessly into its placed environment.

Exhibitions[edit]

Solo exhibitions[edit]

Republic, Maki Gallery [Tennoz], Tokyo, JP, 2020
96375, Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles, CA, 2020
Reformation, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Paris, FR 2017
A Standard, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA, 2017
Kaz Oshiro, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA, 2015
Diffuse Reflection, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Paris, FR, 2015
Chasing Ghosts, LACMA's Charles White Elementary School Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 2014
Logical Disjunction, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong, HK, 2013
Still Life, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA, 2013
Sunset Drone, Las Cienegas Project, Los Angeles, CA, 2011
Zeuxis pop, Villa du Parc, Annemasse, FR 2011
Sundowner, Galerie Perrotin, Miami, FL, 2010
Home Anthology 2, Las Cienegas Project, Los Angeles, CA, 2010
Home Anthology, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Paris, France, 2010
Never Can Say Goodbye, Tower Records Store, in collaboration with No Longer Empty, New York, NY, 2010
False Gestures, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2009
Setting Sun, Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York, NY, 2009
Kaz Oshiro, Sorry We’re Closed, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, BE, 2008
Untitled Recordings, Clear Gallery, Tokyo, JP, 2008
Common Noise, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Paris, FR, 2007
Room Acoustics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, JP, 2007
Kaz Oshiro, Paintings and Works on Paper, 1999-2006, Las Vegas Art Museum, Las Vegas, NV, 2007
New Works, Project Room, Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York, NY, 2007
Driving with Dementia, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2006
Subpar, Steven Wolf Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2006
Project Series 27, Kaz Oshiro, Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA, 2005
Drone, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2005
Room Acoustics, Tokyo Hipsters Club, Inart Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, 2005
Out-n-In, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2004
2002 Pet Sounds, Vol. 13: No Sound, More Alchemy, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, 2002
Pop Tatari (Curse of Pop Music), Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2002