Fujitsuka Shosei

BIO/CV

b. 1949, Hokkaido, Japan

Education
  • 1972

    Apprenticed to Baba Shodo


Exhibitions  & Accolades
  • 1973

    Admitted to Kanagawa Prefecture Art Exhibition

  • 1974

    Moved to Oiso, Kanagawa and became independent

  • 1978

    Admitted to The Modern Craft Arts Exhibition

  • 1984

    Admitted to The Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Eastern Division

  • 1985

    Admitted to The Japan Traditional Craft Arts Wood and Bamboo Exhibition
    Appeared on the TVK Television show, Visiting Artists

  • 1990

    Appeared on the CNN Television show, Japan This Week

  • 1991

    Admitted to The Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition

  • 1992

    Winner, The Encouragement Award, The Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Eastern Division
    Solo exhibition, Hiratsuka Gallery, Hiratsuka

  • 1993

    Received the Superior Prize at The Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
    Appeared on the NHK Television show, Sunday Art Gallery
    Became a full member of The Japan Traditional CraftArts Association
    Solo exhibition, Hiratsuka Gallery, Hiratsuka

  • 1994

    Received The Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award
    Solo exhibition, Shishiza Gallery

  • 1995

    Received The Kanagawa Newspaper Award at The Kanagawa Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
    Solo exhibition, Hiratsuka Gallery, Hiratsuka

  • 1996

    Group exhibition, Ginza Wako, Tokyo
    The Contemporary Japanese Craft Arts Traveling Exhibition
    Solo exhibition, Umeya

  • 1998

    Group exhibition, Ginza Wako, Tokyo
    Group exhibition, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo
    Group exhibition, Bamboo Craft Arts, 13th Asia Memorial Convention

  • 1999

    Solo exhibition, Ginza Wako, Tokyo
    100 Meilleures Objects d’art Contemporains au Japon, Mitsukoshi Etoile, Paris
    Group exhibition, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo

  • 2000

    Bamboo Fantasies, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
    The Next Generation, University of Arkansas, Little Rock

  • 2003

    The Classic Japanese Basket, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
    Group exhibition, The Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, VA

  • 2004

    Two-person exhibition, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
    Weavers of Wonder, Naples Museum of Art, FL
    Invitational Show, Tanabata Ten, Hiratsuka City Museum, Kanagawa

  • 2006

    Power & Delicacy: Master Works of Japanese Bamboo Art, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
    Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art, Grinnell College, IA and Chicago Cultural Center, IL
    Invitational Show, Take no Zo, Nakatomi Museum of Contemporary Craft, Fukui

  • 2007

    Group exhibition, Beyond Basketry: Japanese Bamboo Art, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, MA

  • 2008

    Three-person exhibition, A Sensei and His Students, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
    Group Exhibition, New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters, Japan Society, New York, NY

  • 2009

    Received Encouragement Award from the Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
    Group Exhibition, Many Shapes of Bamboo III, Oita Prefectural Art Museum

  • 2011

    Tokyo Governor’s Prize, 58th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition

  • 2012

    Awarded the “Purple Ribbon” by the Japanese Congress for lifetime achievement in the arts, presented by the Emperor of Japan

  • 2013

    Group Exhibition, Fired Earth, Woven Bamboo, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, MA

  • 2014

    Solo Exhibition, Cosmos, TAI Modern, Santa Fe, NM

  • 2017

    Masterpieces of Japanese Bamboo Art, TAI Modern at Joan B Mirviss LTD, New York, NY
    Japanese Bamboo Art: The Abbey Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY


Museum Collections

  • Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
    Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA
    Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs
    Japan Foundation, New York, NY


ARTIST STATEMENT

“Faintly lit Cascading Milky Way
Orion and Pleiades making rhythmical sounds…”
This is my favorite section of a Japanese song written by Keizo Horiuchi called Fuyuno Seiza / Winter Astronomy.

All of a sudden, one day, an oscillating long-tailed comet appear in dark sky.
As if stars broke through the celestial curtain, the meteor shower pours down
Fantastic curtain of light – Aurora
And also the Milky Way and Nebula express themselves by forming multiple configurations and colors
All of these constellations together create beauty that is so amazing that it makes me speechless
I am filled with feeling of contentment when I spend my time watching these beautiful stars scattered in the evening sky

As I learn how the space is created and developed, I reflect on human life—how fragile our lives are.
Many centuries of life forming on Earth, I believe that they all originated from stars.  They came from the stars and they go back to the stars in the end.
One day, I will also return to Nebula

I work with bamboo every day, and through this medium, I express celestial world which I consider as foundation of my life. I would like to convey to viewers how precious life is through observation of this alluring material, and think about beautiful stars and sublime cosmic space.

  • Masterpieces of Japanese Bamboo Art

  • Japanese Bamboo and the World Expo: A Century of Discovery

  • Fujitsuka Shosei – Cosmos

  • A Sensei and his Students: Baba Shodo, Fujitsuka Shosei & Yako Hodo