Artists

Ruiji Aiba is an artist with a penchant for play. No matter which piece, nor from what angle it is viewed, the work invites the viewer into his remarkable world. Whether small or large, his attention to detail, and intricate workmanship results in one of a kind pieces that show us a world of caricature and humor. His masterful employment of traditional crafts skills such as the nodding head technique used to make Kubifuri dolls of the Edo period, breathe new life into once nearly extinct techniques and uplifts them to a new art standard. In his world of allegoric art one finds the retelling or embodiment of myths, legends and folktales. The question he asks is whether like fables, legends and myths, our imagination is passed down generation to generation? Do we all imagine from the same ancient wellspring or, is the individual’s imagination uniquely the property of that person?

Profile

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan in 1964
Lives and works in Aichi, Japan
【Education】
1992 Graduated from Aichi Prefecture Vocational School, Major in Ceramics
1988 Graduated from Osaka Gakuin University
【Selected Solo Exhibitions】
2023 Ruiji Aiba: Dancing With An Octopus (SEIZAN Gallery, New York)
Ruiji Aiba: Innocence (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
2022 Ruiji Aiba: Zuiju-tan (Tale of The Four Symbols) (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
2021 Ruiji Aiba: Aominazuki (Tuboya Gallery, Kyoto)
Ruiji Aiba: Zuiju-tan (Gallery Kenbishi, Aichi)
Ruiji Aiba: Kiku-Jidō (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
2020 Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Jidō (Gallery Kenbishi, Aichi)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Shuka (Ginza Mitsukoshi, Tokyo)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Wakaran (Paragpn Japan International Art Gallery, Kanagawa)
Online Exhibition “Ruiji Aiba: LOTUS” (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
2019 Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Mirages (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Renge (Gallery Kenbishi, Aichi)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Minazuki (Ginza Mitsukoshi, Tokyo)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Gekka (Azuma-do, Saga)
2018 Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Reborn (Gallery Kenbishi, Aichi)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Rasen (parabolica-bis, Tokyo)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Tabisuru Chawan (Syunju Sanso)
2017 Ruiji Aiba: Wakaran (Tokyu Kichijoji, Tokyo)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Shunjitsukyoso (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
2016 Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Awakening Cats (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Genei (Gallery Kenbishi, Aichi)
2015 Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Tensei (Gallery Kenbishi, Aichi)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Teuchu (Ginza Mitsukoshi, Tokyo)
Ruiji Aiba Pottery Exhibition: Wakaran (Azuma-do, Saga)
【Selected Group Exhibitions】
2023 ART MIAMI (SEIZAN Gallery Booth, Miami, FL)
2021 BEDTIME STORIES (SEIZAN Gallery, New York)
2020 JO SAI SHO FUKU (Ward off Calamities, Invite Good Luck: Gods and Yōkai in Time of Pandemic (online exhibition, SEIZAN Gallery Tokyo & New York)