Soichiro Kanai

Born in 1999. Based in Tokyo. Contemporary artist.

In his adolescent years, Soichiro Kanai spent three years studying in Serbia and Spain to become a pro tennis player. However, his intense training regimen led to the development of a tic disorder and put an end to his competitive career. After enduring that experience, he recalled his earlier love of drawing and began producing artwork as part of his recovery.

After returning to Japan, Kanai developed a strong interest in art history and studied contemporary art on his own through the Internet and books. His artworks incorporate beeswax, jute, soil, steel, and other natural materials into a variety of artistic mediums, such as paintings, sculptures, and installations.

Thematically, his practice focuses on the cumulative effects of time and its relationship with humanity, both internally and externally. Each piece encapsulates the unique physical characteristics of its materials, as well as the long-term changes that affect them, within the piece itself, exploring the intersection of conceptual extremes, such as humanity and nature, life and death, inside and out. In addition, by using rusted metal or weathered wood and soil, the traces of deterioration and other physical processes left on the materials help to visualize the flow of time and the vestiges of memory, all of which pose questions to the viewer about the boundaries between time and space.