Shinro Ohtake

Born 1955 in Tokyo, Japan
Lives and works in Uwajima, Ehime, Japan

Born in Tokyo in 1955, Shinro Ohtake is one of Japan’s leading contemporary artists.
Studies of materiality, form and chance processes, his works encompass drawings, collages, paintings and large-scale assemblage pieces, as well as architectural projects and the experimental noise bands JUKE/19 (1978-82) and Puzzle Punks.
Begun in 1977, the ongoing series of Scrapbooks forms the core of Ohtake's practice. He has made 68 unique books to date, ranging between 50 and 882 pages. The artist works on each book for several months to over a year, pasting found imagery and materials into fragmentary compositions on each page, and then adding hand-drawn and painted elements. Over time the books take on sculptural yet organic properties. A complete presentation of the Scrapbooks was shown at the 2013 Venice Biennale as part of the “Encyclopaedic Palace.” (Take Ninagawa, Tokyo)

Take Ninagawa

Mnemoscape 5

Shinro Ohtake

Mnemoscape 24

Shinro Ohtake

Time Memory / Nairobi

Shinro Ohtake

Retina / Boundary Scene 7

Shinro Ohtake

Retina / Boundary Scene 4

Shinro Ohtake