Koshiro Akiyama

Biography

Koshiro Akiyama (b. 1994, Tokyo, Japan) is a graduate of Camberwell College of Arts, (MA Fine Art, Painting, 2021). He also holds degrees (BA, MA) in Japanese-style Painting from Tokyo University of the Arts.

Akiyama’s painting and printmaking is informed by Japanese painting methods and techniques, using mineral pigments and animal glue which are mixed to create paint and also the use of impasto beneath the top layer, creating a complicated textural surface.

His works are based on photos and memories. The mediums used, especially acrylic, ink and watercolour, are chosen to build up multiple transparent layers with fluid brushstrokes. Having absorbed the expressive, disturbing potential of Eduard Munch’s work, he uses vibrant, even lurid, colours to construct illusionistic and dream-like worlds. The locations are often in an outdoor setting, such as the seaside, a ski resort or a park. Akiyama employs a direct, intuitive process to use these settings to create psychologically probing paintings.

In his painting, Akiyama creates an idealistic landscape that reflects on a psychological condition that deals not only with utopian ideals but also morbidity. In the mind there is a constant shift between tension and relaxation, which weaves its intimate narratives and a sense of ambiguity into the work. Using a phenomenological and simple process he depicts deeply private and intimate spaces, with a sense of compassion.