Kisho Mwkaiyama

Born in 1968 in Osaka, currently lives and works in Tokyo. Mwkaiyama spent his childhood in Mount Koya, recognized as one of Japan’s most prominent locations of esoteric Buddhist temples, and as a child had found himself enticed by the tranquil environment of his surroundings and the Buddhist art that existed within it. This childhood experience had essentially lead Mwkaiyama to concern himself with the fundamental presence of light, a motif that he has consistently worked with since the beginning of his artistic career. His representative works using wax are a continuous attempt to both give appearance to and immobilize light. Mwkaiyama’s works have received high acclaim for the manner in which the various colors affixed through wax serve to visualize the invisible realm as well as the way they seemingly question the very concept of beauty. In recent years he has expanded his scope of expression, producing works using materials other than wax.

Major public collections of Mwkaiyama’s works include, Mori Art Museum, the Yokohama Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Karuizawa. And the other corporate collections include, The Tokyo Club, Obayashi Corporation, Casappo & Associates, Ponte Vecchio Hotta Corporation, Samsung Japan Corporation, Mori Building Co., Ltd., Sotheby’s Chicago Contemporary, MGM Resorts International.