Oscar Oiwa

Oiwa’s practice encompasses drawing, painting, large-scale installation, and public art. Trained in architecture and urbanism, his work reflects a long-term engagement with cities, movement, and cultural exchange, often addressing themes of light, migration, memory, and the relationship between nature and the built environment.

Born in São Paulo in 1965, Oiwa graduated from the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of São Paulo in 1989. He moved to Tokyo in 1991, where his international career began to take shape. During the 1990s, he received significant recognition, including the Encouragement Award at The Vision of Contemporary Art (Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo), an Artist-in-Residence Award from the Delfina Studio Trust in London, and the Grand Prize at the 4th Yokohama Biennale. He has also received major international fellowships and grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. More recently, he received the Medal of Honor from His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, in recognition of his contributions to contemporary art. Since relocating to New York City in 2002, Oiwa has presented more than 200 exhibitions world wide, including over 60 solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; the National Museum of Fine Arts, Rio de Janeiro; the USC Pacific Asia Museum (Pasadena); the 21stb Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; the Arizona State University Art Museum; and the Maison de la culture du Japon in Paris. His work has been widely exhibited across Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and he has participated in major international exhibitions and art festivals, including the São Paulo Biennial, Setouchi Triennale, Oku-Noto Triennale, Japan Alps Art Festival, and the Taiwan Lantern Festival. Public art is a central component of Oiwa’s practice. He has completed numerous permanent, site-specific commissions for civic, transportation, and cultural spaces worldwide. Notable projects include Woodside Window (2024), a mosaic wall commissioned for the MTA New York City Subway; installations for JICA Yokohama’s Japanese Overseas Migration Museum; the Shanghai Urban Space Art Season; and multiple transit stations, parks, and public facilities throughout Japan, China, Taiwan, and the United States.

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