Between the Visible
and the Invisible:
Awai
Yoshiyuki Izuoka
Contemporary Textile Painter
Artist Statement
Between the Visible and the Invisible: Awai
Form and abstraction.
Life and death, the everyday and the otherworldly.
Boundaries that appear sharply divided are, in truth, seamlessly continuous—a realm I define as Awai (the space between).
Through early setbacks and my unique color perception, I encountered the art of silk dyeing in New York. As dyes permeate deep into the silk fibers, they absorb light to create colors that release a subtle presence and atmosphere, transcending the purely visible world.
As an artist, I act as a catalyst bridging reality and the realm beyond; the artwork itself becomes the very presence emerging at that threshold. Through the shifting hues and natural fluctuations infused into silk, I invite you to explore the infinite possibilities that lie within the Awai.
Bio & CV
Selected Chronology
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2025 Between the Visible and Invisible: Yoshiyuki Izuoka Solo Exhibition, Art Ai Kisa, Miyoshi, Hiroshima
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2017 Three Artists from Japan and Korea, K Gallery, Haeundae, Busan, South Korea
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2017 Selected Artist-in-Residence (16th Term), Yachiyo-no-Oka Museum of Art, Akitakata, Hiroshima
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2014 Awarded Special Prize, Busan Art Biennale, Busan, South Korea
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2008 Group Exhibition The World Drawn on Fabric: Textile Dyeing Exhibition, Hatsukaichi Art Gallery, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima
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2007 Group Exhibition Winds of the East, SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, USA
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2001–2002 Awarded Prize, World Picture Book Exhibition, Matsuzakaya Department Store (Ginza, Tokyo) / Toured to Toronto, Canada (2002)
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1997 Returned to Japan; Held first solo exhibition in Hiroshima
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1995 Apprenticed under Md. Salleh Bin Dawam, Western-style painter whose works are in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Malaysia; Malaysia
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1989 Graduated from Hiroshima Prefectural Kannon High School (Forced to abandon aspirations for fine arts university due to color vision deficiency)
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1978 Inspired by Impressionist masterpieces at the Hiroshima Museum of Art; Resolved to become a painter
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1970 Born in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
Solo Exhibitions
Domestic (Japan)
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Hiroshima Mitsukoshi (Hiroshima)
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Kokura Izutsuya (Kitakyushu)
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Nagoya Sakae Mitsukoshi (Nagoya)
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Daimaru Fukuoka Tenjin (Fukuoka)
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Hanshin Department Store Umeda Main Store (Osaka)
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Tokiwa Head Office (Oita)
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Yonago Takashimaya (Yonago)
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Yamakataya (Kagoshima)
International
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SOMArts Cultural Center (San Francisco, USA)
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K Gallery (Haeundae, Busan, South Korea)
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Solo Exhibitions in Malaysia, and others
Public & Private Collections
Public Collections
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United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
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Municipal Museums of Art
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Public and Private Hospitals
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Luxury Hotels
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Premier Department Stores, and numerous others
Private Collections
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Extensively held in private contemporary art collections both across Japan and internationally.