Biography

Ryuku Otsuka (b. 1996, Tokyo) is a Japanese contemporary artist based in Paris. His practice centers on Nihonga, a traditional painting method using natural pigments and minerals, which he has chosen as a way of grounding his cultural identity. Through layered brushwork and patient repetition, he explores memory, presence, and the dialogue between past and present.

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My mission as an artist is to honor traditional crafts and the artisans who sustain them. In a world saturated with imitation, authenticity is quietly disappearing. In art, concept often overshadows the work itself; in fashion, branding hides the true quality of materials and making; even food is rarely untouched by chemicals. Many craftspeople, carrying skills refined over centuries, struggle to find successors because their work is difficult to sustain in a fast-paced economy. Supporting what is real, therefore, feels profoundly meaningful.

I have embraced Nihonga as both my medium and my cultural identity. Working with natural pigments and minerals, I continue a Japanese tradition that is as philosophical as it is technical. The patient layering of brushstrokes creates a rhythm of presence—a quiet discipline that mirrors the devotion of the artisans who prepare many of Nihonga’s materials. Having left Japan at fifteen, I once felt the loss of cultural identity; this practice became a way to reconnect with where I come from.

My paintings often arise from memory: moments of stillness, fleeting encounters, and reflections that resurface long after they have passed. Drawing on both cultural history and lived experience, I create compositions where past and present meet—spaces for contemplation and reconnection with what endures. I welcome each viewer’s personal interpretation and enjoy weaving in subtle elements of surprise to spark reflection. Influenced by Marcel Duchamp’s 1957 lecture The Creative Act, I believe that the spectator’s response completes a work of art—sometimes in ways that exceed the artist’s original intention. That is why most of my artwork stays untitled.

Looking ahead, I aim to elevate the visibility and value of handmade work. My ambition is for my art to gain significant recognition and resources that can be directed toward the craftspeople who inspire me—through commissions and collaborations with masters of other disciplines such as 塗師 (lacquer painters), 仏師 (Buddhist wood sculptors), and 工芸家 (ceramists). I want audiences to experience the depth, resilience, and longevity of craftsmanship, and to see how its process and purpose far outlast mass production.