Masayoshi Oya

The ceramic artist Masayoshi Oya has developed a distinctive and influential
artistic expression at the intersection of two cultures. Deeply rooted in Japanese
craft traditions, he has, since moving to Sweden in 2007, also drawn inspiration from the environments and experiences of his new home—impressions that have shaped a more experimental approach to ceramics. Here, he has developed
a unique contemporary, painterly world of patterns, characterized by bold colors
and narrative decors. The art and functional objects he creates in his studio, housed in a former bakery in Gothenburg, have contributed to a renewed interest
in the handmade in Sweden—as a countermovement to the standardized and mass-produced.

In this exhibition, Masayoshi Oya presents new ceramic works created for Vandalorum. Included are also works in glass, sketches, and textiles, as well as an animation that invites the audience into Masayoshi Oya’s creative process, made by British artist and animator Ben Baker.

Masayoshi Oya (b. 1979, Tokyo) lives and works in Gothenburg, where he runs Studio Oyama. He holds a Master’s degree in craft from HDK-Valand in Gothenburg and has also studied ceramics at Capellagården on Öland and at the Aichi Prefectural Seto Yogyo School in Aichi, Japan. His work has been exhibited at the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the Design Museum Helsinki, Wanås Konst, the Embassy 
of Sweden in Tokyo, the Röhsska Museum, and the Kunstmuseum in Tønder. In 2019, he received the Sten A. Olsson Cultural Scholarship, and in 2022 the Ulrika Hydman Vallien Foundation Scholarship.

The exhibition is produced by Vandalorum, with exhibition design by TAF Studio and graphic design by Stefan Engblom.

Thanks to: Tore G. Wärenstam Foundation, Estrid Ericson Foundation, Åke Wiberg Foundation, Byggfabriken, Swedish Arts Council, 
Region Jönköping County, Municipality of Värnamo, and Vandalorum’s Partners: Hamrin, Liljedahl, Svenstig

^{Photos: Patrik Lindell & Daniel Grizelj}