Introduction to OZU Wataru
OZU Wataru (b.1991, Tokyo, Japan) graduated from the Department of Oil Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts, where he also obtained his master’s degree. His paintings are distinguished by bright and transparent layers of color, with light brushstrokes that retain subtle “wiping” traces. Through thin applications of paint and partial erasures, he creates effects that are not entirely controllable, resulting in a visual tension between revelation and concealment.
Actively engaged in the Japanese art scene for many years, he has also served as a Research Assistant in Oil Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts. His residency experiences include the London Exchange Program (Central Saint Martins and Youkobo) and a residency in New York, both of which expanded his creative horizons and international engagement.
Ozu has held a solid range of solo exhibitions, including at the Hirosaki Brick Warehouse Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as at various venues in Tokyo, Ginza, Kobe, and Fukuoka, where his works have been warmly received by the local market.
In addition, he frequently participates in group exhibitions and art fairs, with appearances in Tokyo, Daimaru, Kyoto, and Paris. He exhibited at Asia Now Paris in 2021 and 2022, and from 2023 to 2025, his works have been repeatedly featured at Tokyo Art Fair and Osaka Art Festival, underscoring his strong international presence.
Ozu’s practice often centers on the fundamental genres of painting—still life, landscape, and portraiture. Drawing on the intersection of Japanese traditions and Western painting, he reflects on the relationship between painter and subject, and explores how pictorial space can reposition the tension between the viewer’s gaze and the depicted object.
1991 Born in Tokyo, Japan
Education
2017 Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts
2014 Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Major in Oil Painting
Experience
2019.4~2022.3 Research Assistant for Oil Painting Education and Research, Tokyo University of the Arts
2015 London, Tokyo Exchange program 2015 (Residency in London) , Tokyo University of the Arts, Central Saint Martin’ s University, Youkobo
2015 Japan Student Services Organization Overseas Study Support Program (Residence in New York), Japan Student Services Organization
Solo Exhibition
2024 “Cliché and New Image” , Concept Store SEE?, Kobe
2024 “The Painter and the Motif” , Gallery Container, Fukuoka
2023 “On the Table” , GALLERY MERROW CAFE, Tokyo
2022 “On the Ground, on the Table” , MARUEIDO APAN, Tokyo
2020 “Image of motif” , Ginza Tsutaya Art Wall Gallery
2020 “Apple Star” , Hirosaki Renga Warehouse Museum BRICK Wall , Aomori
2019 “Star of Nigayomogi” , un petit GARAGE, Tokyo
2018 “Habits, Colors, Forms” , Bambinart Gallery, Tokyo
2018 “Wataru OZU 2016-2017” ,B ambinart Gallery, Tokyo
2017 “Landscape of 00” , Bambinart Gallery, Tokyo
2015 “Comet of Wormwood” , ACME studio, London
Group Exhibition
2025 “7 Sceneries” , Daimaru Tokyo, Tokyo
2025 “GROUPSHOW” , Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo
2025 “Greeting” , Kyoto Tsutaya Books, Kyoto
2025 “Cherry Blossom Overload -Merry Cherry Blossom-“ , Gallery Tamenaga, Kyoto
2024 “ACROBATS” , AISHO, Tokyo
2024 “Emerging Visions: The New Generation of Japanese Artists” , Galerie Tamenaga, Tokyo
2024 “Summer of Japan, Summer of Art – Summer, Japan, Art” , Galerie Tamenaga, Tokyo
2024 “SOU～KANE～ Vol.2 5 Artists Exhibition” , Isetan, Tokyo
2024 “MONOCHROME” , Galerie Tamenaga, Tokyo
2024 “Kitchenism” , Alpha CONTEMPORARY, Tokyo
2024 “Empathy Gallery x STUDIO KODAI” , Empathy Gallery, Tokyo
2024 “Nouvel Horizon Japon” , Galerie Tamenaga, Paris
2024 “Merry Cherry Blossom-“ , Galerie Tamenaga, Kyoto
2023 “Now selection – the night before the break” , ASTER, Ishikawa
2023 “Tricolore” , Galerie Tamenaga, Kyoto
2023 “Face to Face Vol. III” , Bunkamura Gallery, Tokyo
2023 “Focus the STUDIO KODAI” , Art or Beef or White Kitchen, Tokyo
2023 “Japanese Artists who charmed Paris” , Galerie Tamenaga, Tokyo
2023 “Sugaozuo” , KOMAGOME1-14cas, Tokyo
2023 “Early Summer Viewing Room” , MARUEIDO APAN, Tokyo
2023 “What is the artist looking at? “ , GALLERY SCENA, Tokyo
2023 “Post landscape” , ASTER, Ishikawa
2022 “ART MART” , MARUEIDO APAN, Tokyo
2022 “ASTER Christmas” , ASTER, Kanazawa
2022 “ANTENNA KODAI” , HIRO OKAMOTO, Tokyo
2022 “GINZA COLLECTOR’S CLUB” , Ginza Tsutaya, Ginza
2022 “Japanese Artists who charmed Pari” , Galerie Tamenaga, Tokyo
2022 “Japanese Artists who charmed Pari” , Galerie Tamenaga, Kyoto
2021 “Nouvel Horizon Japon” , Galerie Tamenaga, Paris
2020 “Jingu no Mori Art Festival” , Meiji Jingu Shrine, Tokyo
2020 “KODAI selected Artists with MJ” , MARUEIDO APAN, Tokyo
2020 “MONTBLANC Dis the Chain Museum” , Mont Blanc Ginza flagship store, Tokyo
2020 “Anthropocene” , Ginza Tsutaya Art Wall Gallery
2019 “Find Your ART for Christmas” ,MARUEIDO JAPAN, Tokyo
2019 “Ai mi Tagai” , Former Hirakushi Denchu Residence Atelier, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
2017 “Group Exhibition” , Iroha-do, Tokyo
2017 “Three Artists” , Bambinart Gallery, Tokyo
2017 “Paintings” , Bambinart Gallery, Tokyo
2017 “Green Face and Pink Waterfall” , Youkobo, Tokyo
Art Fair
2025 ART FAIR TOKYO 2025, Tokyo
2024 MEET YOUR ART FAIR, Tokyo
2024 D-art 2024, Fukuoka
2024 ART FAIR TOKYO 2024, Tokyo
2023 ART FAIR TOKYO 2023, Tokyo
2023 ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2023, Fukuoka
2023 OSAKA ART FES HANSHIN, Osaka
2022 ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2022, Fukuoka
2022 Asia Now 2022, Paris, France
2021 ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2021, Tokyu Department Store, Fukuoka
2021 Asia Now 2021, Paris, France
2017 3331 ART FAIR ,3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo
