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ETSU EGAMI

b. 1994, Tokyo, Japan

 

Growing up in the United States and Europe, and currently living and working in China, Etsu Egami experienced various communication barriers she encountered as a result of her cross-cultural residence. She felt that languages can “only be sensed, not explained”, thus becoming more interested in the discipline of language and communication. Etsu’s works are comprised of various mediums, such as voice, video, and drawings, through which she strives to question human instincts and the authenticity of communication. Estu’s perceptive contemporary pieces have led her to receive high praise from the art sector. Curator of Pompidou art centre Julie Jones describes Egami as an artist who “sees all these specificities as a source, not only of misunderstanding but also of creation and richness in people’s relationships.” Chinese curator Feng Bo Yi also summarized Etsu’s creation as being “about the concept and the significance of ‘communication’. Through the paintings and videos which embody these mishearing games, as well as the evolution of times, the clashes between civilisations, we acquire a discourse on the barriers in language communications, and subsequently even trigger a crisis.”

 

One of the most noteworthy contemporary artists, Estu Egami’s artistic achievement has been accredited by numerous awards: Forbes Asia 30 UNDER 30 in 2020 and 2021; Most Popular Artist on Artsy in 2021; Outstanding Artist dispatch to New York and Los Angeles from the Agency for Culture Affairs, Government of Japan (2020); CAF AWARD 2020 Finalist in Tokyo, Japan (2020); Sovereign Asian Art Award 2019; 16th Chiba city government Art and Culture new star prize (2018), among others.

 

Etsu Egami graduated with a B.F.A. from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) specializing in Oil Painting in 2016. She obtained a P.H.D. at CAFA under the mentorship of artist Liu Xiao Dong and studied in HFG in Germany. In early 2023, Etsu was dispatched in New York as a talented artist by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese government. Her works have also been exhibited at important institutions including OAR Museum, Gyongju (Korea); Das Kunst Museum, Karlsruhe (Germany); New Art Center, Palo Alto, San Francisco (U.S.); OAR Contemporary Art Museum, Busan (Korea);  Guggenheim Museum, New York (U.S.); the Grand Palais, Paris (U.S.), the Asian Art Institute, Chicago (U.S.), the Japan Foundation for Contemporary Art, Tokyo (Japan); the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (China); the Korea Cultural Agency, Seoul (Korea); the Tomioka Museum of Art, Tomioka (Japan); the Nanjo Museum of Art, Nanjo (Japan); the Japan-China Friendship Museum, Tokyo (Japan); the China Oil Painting Institute Museum, Beijing (China); Today Art Museum, Beijing (Korea); Para Site Art Space, Hong Kong (China), etc.