Kumikaho OSHIMA
Kumikaho Oshima is a young Japanese artist whose paintings revolve around two chief motifs : Barbies and US Dollars. Japan isn’t really different from the western world when it comes to the plague of consumerism and Oshima’s goal is to illustrate the condition of modern Japanese women. Through her satirical work, Oshima is criticizing the excessive implementation of western trends into Japanese culture and art, as well as the appropriation of western symbols and values. Aesthetically speaking, Oshima’s work belongs to the neo-pop art movement in Japan, whose most famous representative is Takashi Murakami……
(Exhibition History after the Biography…)
Kumikaho Oshima is a young Japanese artist whose paintings revolve around two chief motifs – Barbies and US Dollars. Japan isn’t really different from the western world when it comes to the plague of consumerism and Oshima’s goal is to illustrate the condition of modern Japanese women. Through her satirical work, Oshima is criticizing the excessive implementation of western trends into Japanese culture and art, as well as the appropriation of western symbols and values. Aesthetically speaking, Oshima’s work belongs to the neo-pop art movement in Japan, whose most famous representative is Takashi Murakami.
Revolution in Manners and Morals
The position of women in Japanese society was very traditional and based on the clear hierarchy for many centuries. Western influence was the main factor which transformed the morals and manners of Japanese women, who began to perceive money as power and material goods not only as a luxury but more as a necessity. Through the strong satire and criticism, Oshima’s work speaks about the revolution of Japanese women’s morals and desires. Barbie dolls are the symbols of physically ideal but superficial modern women while US dollars are playing the role of the ultimate need of these seemingly emancipated modern women. Oshima also introduces the motif of nudity and orgies, perhaps suggesting that anything can be done for money and that selling our own body is not a serious issue anymore.
Limited Colors, Tremendous Energy
Oshima’s work is subtle and her colors limited. She is using subdued earthy and fleshy tones, which give her paintings a certain washed-out feel. However, this subtlety of Oshima’s palette is quite deceiving, because the scenes she depicts possess a strong sensuality and fierce emotions. Oshima is a very meticulous painter and she carefully focuses on the concepts behind her pieces before painting them. She needs a very clear vision to make her creative processes run smooth. Even though Oshima is a painter, she is using some of the photographic techniques in her work, such as avoiding to put the subject in the very center of the frame, which makes her scenes more dramatic and dynamic. Also, she is using a lot of close-ups in order to focus on the bizarre mix of naked body parts of her Barbie dolls and graphic details of US dollars.
New Generation of Japanese Artists
Kumikaho Oshima belongs to the new generation of female Japanese artists who are brave and ambitious in their desire to reach the international audience. She is also the part of the Studio Crazy Noodles, which is specializing in the Japanese neo-pop and erotic representation of female characters engaged in subversive activities. The value of Oshima’s work lies in her strong desire to depict the pressing issue of consumerism and the toll it takes on Japanese women. She has developed quite consistent and recognizable style that already appeals to the international art circles.
Kumikaho Oshima lives and works in Tokyo, Japan.
Exhibitons List :
2016
KAWAI Show , Gallery 32 , TelAviv , Israel
Permanent Exhibition , Galerie Alain Daudet , Toulouse , France
Crazy noodles gang !!!!! , Opera Gallery Singapore , Singapore
Collective Show, Guerrero Gallery , Miami, USA
Permanent Exhibition, TRIBES gallery, Tel Aviv , Israel
Permanent Presentation , Happy Art Gallery , Cannes , France
Collective Show , LTBart Gallery, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
Nippon Neo Pop Show, ZK Gallery , San Francisco, USA
CrazyNoodles Show , Gallerie Ariel Jakob , Paris , France
Colorfull, Guerrero Fine Art , Barcelona, Sitges, Spain
Permanent Exhibition, TRIBES gallery, Tel Aviv , Israel
2015
Collective Show , Opera Gallery Dubai , Dubai , UAE
PandaSan and friends , SIBMAN Gallery , Paris , France
Permanent show , Gallery Bel Air Fine Art , Crans Montana, Switzerland
Icons PartII , Gallery 32 , TelAviv , Israel
Magnificient Contemporary Art , Opera Gallery Hong Kong , Hong Kong , China CrazyNoodles Show, Opera Gallery Singapore , Singapore
Collective Show, LTBart Gallery , Ciudad de Mexico , Mexico.
2014
Collective Show , Opera Gallery Hong Kong ,Hong Kong , China
Pop Sculptures , Opera Gallery Paris, Paris , France.
ColorFull , Galerie Ariel Sibony , Paris, France
Collective Show , Opera Gallery Singapore , Singapore
Permanent Presentation , Happy Art Gallery , Cannes , France
Icons , Gallery 32 , TelAviv , Israel
Collective Show , Galerie Absolute , Saint Paul de Vence , France
This is Tokyo , SIBMAN Gallery , Paris , France
Permanent Exhibition , BelAirFineArt Geneve , Geneve , Switzerland
Opening Show LTBart Gallery, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
Permanent Exhibition , Galerie Alain Daudet , Toulouse , France
2013
Permanent Exhibition Sculptures , Galerie SIBMAN , Paris France.Nippon Pop Show , SIBMAN Gallery , Paris , France
Opening Collective Show , Gallery32 , telAviv, Israel.
Mad Show , Maddog Gallery , Ibiza , Spain
Permanent Presentation , Happy Art Gallery , Cannes , France
2012
Pop Art Show , Luca Fine Art , Verbier , Switzerland
Pop Show , Gallery Bel Air Fine Art , Crans Montana, Switzerland.
CrazyNoodles Show , Gallerie Ariel Jakob , Paris , France
Permanent Presentation , Happy Art Gallery , Cannes , France
Permanent Exhibition Sculptures , Galerie Ariel Sibony , Paris France.
AnyWhichWay , Galerie BelAirFineArt , Geneve , Geneve , Switzerland.
2011
Collective Show, Rize Art Gallery, Naarden, The Netherlands
Collective Show , Galerie Alain Daudet, Toulouse , France
CrazyNoodles Show , Galerie Marie Ricco , Calvi , France
Pop Art Show , Galerie des Lices, Saint Tropez , France.
Collective Show , Absolute Gallery, Brugge , Belgium.
Show CrazyNoodles , Sibman Gallery , Paris ,France
ColorFull , Galerie Ariel Sibony , Paris France.
ARTAMSTERDAM (ARTFAIR),RAI Edition 28 , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
2010
Nippon Neo Pop in Paris, Galerie Jacob Paulett, Paris, France
Manga in Amsterdam, Willem Kerseboom Gallery, Amsterdam , The Netherlands
Nippon Collective Show, Galerie Ariel Jakob, Paris, France
CrazyColors , Opera GALLERY, Paris, France
LILLE ART FAIR (ARTFAIR), Palais des Expositions de Lille, Lille, France
ARTAMSTERDAM (ARTFAIR),RAI Edition 26 , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
2009
Nippon 2009, Galerie Ariel Sibony, Paris, France
From Kyoto to Tokyo, Collective Show, Galerie JacobPaulett, Paris France
The World ... a Cartoon, Willem Kerseboom Gallery, Amsterdam , The Netherlands
Shogun in PokemonLand, Opera GALLERY, Geneva, Switzerland
ARTPARIS (ARTFAIR), GrandPalais, Paris, France
ARTAMSTERDAM (ARTFAIR),RAI Edition 25 , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
SCOPE BASEL(ARTFAIR), KASERN Basel, Basel, Switzerland
SCOPE NEW YORK (ARTFAIR), 355 West 36th Street, New York, USA
SLICK PARIS (ARTFAIR), le 104, Paris, France
2008
NeoPop Made in JAPAN, Galerie Ariel Sibony, Paris, France
Tokyo Express, Opera Gallery, London, UK
Inside Japan, La 5eme Galerie, Paris, France
Wonderland, , Japanese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Opera Gallery, Hong Kong, China
ARTLONDON (ARTFAIR), Royal Hospital, London, UK