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Kaz Oshiro

b. 1967

Japanese artist (born 1967)

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About Kaz Oshiro

Born 1967. Kaz Oshiro is a Japanese artist and visual artist.

Kaz Oshiro is a Japanese-American artist based in Los Angeles, CA. His work resides between painting and sculpture, creating uncannily realistic objects that have ranged from a full-size replica of a dumpster to a mini fridge adorned with stickers, however, through the use of stretcher bars, canvas, and paint.

His work has been exhibited at museums and galleries including Apex Art, the Swiss Institute and the Asia Society and Museum in New York, the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, the Orange County Museum of Art, UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Royal Academy in London, and Veletrzni Palace in Prague. His work appears in Lifelike, a group show at the Walker Art Center, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and the Blanton Museum of Art.

Oshiro is represented by Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Santa Monica, California and in Paris by Galerie Frank Elbaz.

Biography Born 1967 in Okinawa, Japan, Oshiro emigrated to the United States in 1986 and studied at California State University, Los Angeles, graduating with a BA in 1998 and an MFA in 2002.

Artwork

Oshiro's work rides the fine line between sculpture and real life objects. What may initially appear to be an everyday fast food trash can or a set of guitar amplifiers, a closer look will reveal to viewers that the piece itself is merely a painting on a custom stretched and created canvas. Complete with details made to resemble time and human's impact on these objects (i.e. markings to resemble scratches and tears, dust, etc.), his work uses a realist technique for the paintings to blend seamlessly into its placed environment.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

Republic, Maki Gallery [Tennoz], Tokyo, JP, 2020 96375, Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles, CA, 2020 Reformation, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Paris, FR 2017 A Standard, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA, 2017 Kaz Oshiro, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA, 2015 Diffuse Reflection, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Paris, FR, 2015 Chasing Ghosts, LACMA's Charles White Elementary School Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 2014 Logical Disjunction, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong, HK, 2013 Still Life, Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA, 2013 Sunset Drone, Las Cienegas Project, Los Angeles, CA, 2011 Zeuxis pop, Villa du Parc, Annemasse, FR 2011 Sundowner, Galerie Perrotin, Miami, FL, 2010 Home Anthology 2, Las Cienegas Project, Los Angeles, CA, 2010 Home Anthology, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Paris, France, 2010 Never Can Say Goodbye, Tower Records Store, in collaboration with No Longer Empty, New York, NY, 2010 False Gestures, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2009 Setting Sun, Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York, NY, 2009 Kaz Oshiro, Sorry We’re Closed, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, BE, 2008 Untitled Recordings, Clear Gallery, Tokyo, JP, 2008 Common Noise, Galerie Frank Elbaz, Paris, FR, 2007 Room Acoustics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, JP, 2007 Kaz Oshiro, Paintings and Works on Paper, 1999-2006, Las Vegas Art Museum, Las Vegas, NV, 2007 New Works, Project Room, Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York, NY, 2007 Driving with Dementia, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2006 Subpar, Steven Wolf Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2006 Project Series 27, Kaz Oshiro, Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA, 2005 Drone, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2005 Room Acoustics, Tokyo Hipsters Club, Inart Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, 2005 Out-n-In, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2004 2002 Pet Sounds, Vol. 13: No Sound, More Alchemy, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, 2002 Pop Tatari (Curse of Pop Music), Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2002

Public Collections Fonds national d’art contemporain, Paris

Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA

The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami, FL

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, UT

Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA

Peter Norton Family Foundation, Santa Monica, CA

Rubell Museum, Miami, FL

Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, NE

Zabludowicz Collection, London

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Important facts

Born
1967, Okinawa
Birth century
Nationality
Education
California State University

People in Kaz Oshiro's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Kaz Oshiro's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Kaz Oshiro?

Japanese artist (born 1967)

When was Kaz Oshiro born?

Kaz Oshiro was born in 1967 in Okinawa.

What is Kaz Oshiro's occupation?

Kaz Oshiro is an artist and visual artist.

What nationality is Kaz Oshiro?

Kaz Oshiro is Japanese.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Kaz Oshiro

· Wikidata: Q6380756

· DBpedia: Kaz Oshiro

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Kaz Oshiro. https://biography.guide/kaz-oshiro/

MLA: "Kaz Oshiro." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/kaz-oshiro/.

Chicago: "Kaz Oshiro." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/kaz-oshiro/.

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