Shinji Ohmaki is a pivotal contemporary artist from Japan, born in 1971 in Gifu and a 1995 graduate from the Tokyo University of the Arts. He has been honored with numerous international accolades, including the 1997 Kirin Contemporary Award Special Prize, the 14th Holbein Scholarship Grand Prize in 1999, the 10th Kyoto Art Festival "Create Kyoto" Grand Prize in 2000, the fifth ADSP Award in 2002, the sixth Okamoto Taro Contemporary Art Award Special Prize in 2003, the eighth Enku Grand Prize in 2015, and the 27th Daio Wasabi Farm Takashimaya Art Award in 2017, among others. Ohmaki's works are characterized by their poetic and public nature, delicately and precisely engaging in a dialogue with space, and have been frequently exhibited in significant international exhibitions. His works have been showcased in notable venues including the Hakone Open-Air Museum, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, the Miyazaki Prefectural Museum of Art, the Chihiro Art Museum, the Gifu Museum of Art, the Fuchu Art Museum, the Hirosaki Brick Warehouse Museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Japan, the Chengdu A4 Art Museum in China, and the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan. Ohmaki has also participated in renowned domestic and international exhibitions and collaborations, such as the Aichi Triennale in Japan, the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, the Shenzhen (Pingshan) International Sculpture Exhibition, the Wuzhen International Contemporary Art Invitational Exhibition in China, and collaborations with Hermès on the Left Bank and Louis Vuitton's 2016 men's fashion show in France.
Shinji Ohmaki excels in using art to integrate and transform spaces, revealing a profound understanding of the existence and passage of time, as well as a warm concern for society through his unique and delicate aesthetic form. His thematic focus always revolves around "objects, space, and existence." He frequently incorporates traditional Japanese materials and techniques into his work, employing a diverse array of methods to explore space, time, gravity, and memory. Ohmaki has developed the "Echoes-Infinity," "Liminal Air," "Flotage" series, and installation performances such as "Memorial Rebirth." His creations offer viewers a new bodily experience, opening up perceptions beyond sight, engaging in poetic emptiness to discuss reality, contemporary issues, and sparking personal philosophical reflection. Through seemingly gentle and tranquil artistic vocabulary, Ohmaki's art resonates with viewers, stirring continuous drift and fluctuation, and illuminating the myriad ways art enriches life.