Reon Otsuka
PROFILE
Otsuka employs a distinctive technique of allowing ink to bleed into satin fabric, exploring the boundaries between chance and intention, figuration and abstraction. As ink penetrates and spreads across the reflective surface of satin, images emerge through an interplay between the artist’s intervention and the inherent behavior of the materials.
His practice resonates with the legacy of postwar abstraction and staining techniques developed from the 1950s onward by artists such as Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis, whose work brought the act of painting into direct relationship with the physical properties of the support. Otsuka, however, extends this approach into figurative imagery, including human figures and plants, allowing bleeding and distortion to destabilize their contours and presence.
While his earlier work confronted the violence and complexities inherent in human nature, his recent practice has shifted toward a more intuitive engagement with beauty and the familiar. Within the tension between chance and artistic control, Otsuka continues to explore new possibilities in painting—including experiments with alternative supports—navigating the space between making an image and allowing an image to appear, actively presenting his work through solo and group exhibitions.
BIOGRAPHY
2001 Born in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
2025 Graduated from the Painting Course of Fine Arts in the Graduate School of Art and Design at Musashino Art University
AWARDS
2024 “The 11th Mirai-ten (Future Exhibition) – Galerie Nichido Art School Student Support Program” at Ginza Gallery Nichido in Tokyo, Japan, grand prix award
2025 Musashino Art University Degree Show 2024 in Tokyo, Japan, Excellence Award
PAST EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions：
2025 “Otsuka Leon exhibition 2025” es contemporary, Osaka
2024 “Jet the Phantom” Chateau Koganei, Tokyo
Group Exhibitions：
2025 Two-person exhibition by Reon Otsuka and 1 Second Angel 9 ”Frenzy or Entropy?” Sho+1, Tokyo
2025 “ART FAIR TOKYO 19” Sho+1, Tokyo
2024 “+unknown” Tachikawa Art Land, Tokyo
2024 “BLUE’s” converse TOKYO Shibuya MIYASHITA PARK, Tokyo
2023 “new age entrophy” Sho+1, Tokyo
2023 “I wrote the letter because I had no choice. What was the matter with the letter I wrote earlier? “ ena Art Gallery, Tokyo
OFFICIAL LINK