OTANI Yoichiro

大谷 陽一郎

Born in 1990 in Osaka, Japan. He completed his doctoral studies at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, and participated in an exchange program at Tsinghua University in Beijing during his studies.
His practice explores new relationships between characters through the creation of visual poetry using kanji. By engaging the subtle tension between seeing and reading, he seeks to reveal the latent possibilities embedded within language and imagery. As viewers shift their gaze, dispersed characters encounter one another, generating unexpected connections and moments of coincidence.
Moving beyond conventional frameworks of logical and sequential reading, his work invites a mode of simultaneous and direct perception, giving rise to a poetic space in which kanji resonate with one another.

Artworks

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  • ki #34

    ki #34

    Yoichiro OTANI

    ¥847,000 ~ ¥974,050

    canvas 、 mixed media

    size : 100 x 72.7 cm

CV

Major solo exhibitions

2026
  • "The Wonders of Words" Uspace Gallry (Taipei/Taiwan)
2025
  • "AMETSUCHI" artstudio NAZUKARI WAREHOUSE (Chiba/Japan)
  • "Yoichiro Otani Solo Exhibition /ki/" Gallery NEXT at Osaka Takashimaya (Osaka/Japan)
2024
  • "Un nun" Miaki Gallery (Tokyo/Japan)
  • "melody composed of words" Uspace Gallery (Taipei/Taiwan)
2023
  • "AmE" Bohemian's Guild Cage (Tokyo/Japan)

Major group exhibitions

2025
  • "ART SESSION" Tsutaya Bookstore at GINZA SIX (Tokyo/Japan)
  • "Kokontozai" Kyo-ART (Kyoto/Japan)
2024
  • “OK TO NOT BE AN ARTHOLIC YET” Miaki Gallery (Kyoto/Japan)
  • "MUSIC LOVES ART 2024" Nakanoshima Festival Tower (Osaka/Japan)
  • "HAMAMATSU SESSIONS vol.5" Hirano Art Gallery (Shizuoka/Japan)
2023
  • "THE YEN CONNECTION" MEDEL GALLERY SHU at Imperial Hotel (Tokyo/Japan)
  • "Artworks for ROLF BENZ TOKYO" ROLF BENZ TOKYO (Tokyo/Japan)
  • Two-person exhibition "Echoes" Yoichiro Otani x Koichi Hyogo, Miaki Gallery (Tokyo/Japan)
  • "e to oto to..." + ART GALLERY (Tokyo/Japan)
  • "NOMURA ART CONNECT 2023 Nomura Art Award Exhibition" Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. Private Banking Tokyo Office Hall (Tokyo/Japan)
2021
  • “REAL by ArtSticker Shanghai” Shanghai Meilong Town Isetan (Shanghai/China)
  • Two-person exhibition "Distant Shadow of a Solitary Sail" Risako Ehara x Yoichiro Otani, Montblanc Ginza Namiki-dori Store (Tokyo/Japan)
  • "Miraino Shibuya Weeks" Shibuya Seibu B Building 5F (Tokyo/Japan)

Major art fairs

  • Tokyo Gendai (Kanagawa/Japan)
  • Art Jakarta (Jakarta/Indonesia)
  • CIMB ARTOBER (Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia)
  • Asia Now by AIFA (Paris/France)
  • Art Central (Hong Kong)
  • West Bund Art Fair (Shanghai/China)
  • ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA (Fukuoka/Japan)
  • Infinity Japan (Taipei/Taiwan)
  • Kobe Art Marché (Kobe/Japan)
  • StART Art Fair (Seoul/Korea)

Awards

2022
  • Nomura Art Award
2018
  • Salon de Printemps Award

Book

2021
  • "Kanjirue" Fukuinkan Shoten
2017
  • "Rain, Collection of Yoichiro Otani's Works" Little More

Exhibition

Yoichiro Otani Solo Exhibition "long spell of rain"

2026.04.10 Fri -04.23 Thu

Yoichiro OTANI

AND COLLECTION Contemporary Art is pleased to announce a solo exhibition by Yoichiro Otani, titled "long spell of rai...