Tadahiko Emura

Tadahiko Emura is a contemporary sculptor based in Japan, working primarily in "Kanshitsu"(Dry Lacquer), a traditional Japanese sculpting technique that uses Urushi (Japanese lacquer). Traditionally used in Buddhist sculpture in Japan, "Kanshitsu" allows lacquer itself to become the body of the sculpture. He explores creating new sculptural forms with this material and technique, rather than reproducing its traditional forms.

For him, sculpture begins with a simple question: How does a body stand? Standing is a small resistance to gravity, and he sees this act not only in human beings, but also in natural materials such as wood, stone, and earth. A body's posture can suggest a way of living. Through sculpture, he explores how such qualities can emerge from material form because standing on the earth is a shared experience that reminds us that we are all living in the present moment.

In his practice, he does not simply impose a predetermined image on the material. He asks the sculpture what posture it will take, while working with the material to discover its form. The process is a dialogue between intention, material, gravity, and space. The result may differ from his initial expectations, and these differences are an important...

2007 School of Education, Okayama University, Japan (BA)
2009 Graduate School of Education, Okayama University, Japan (MA)
2012 Doctoral Degree Program (Art), Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan (PhD)

He has exhibited in over 100 exhibitions at museums and galleries in Japan and abroad.
The main exhibition history is as follows:
2009-Present: Shinseisaku Art Exhibition, the National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan, (Artists' association's exhibition: currently as a member of the sculpture section and a judge)
2023-Present: A moment to touch the sculpture, Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan
2025: A-Un —reversible body—: Tadahiko Emura Tactile Sculpture Exhibition, New Space PA, Tokyo, Japan
2025: Japan-Korea International Sculpture Exhibition, Gallery Seiho, Tokyo, Japan
2018-2024: Japan-Taiwan Urushi Lacquer International Exhibition, Fei Art Museum Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
2023: Art Cheongju 2023, Cheongju, South Korea
2023: Taiwan-Japan International Exchange Lacquer Art Exhibition, National Taiwan University of Arts International Gallery, New Taipei, Taiwan
2022: The 12th Okayama Prefectural Mr. I Development of Rising Artists Award Exhibition -Our Ground, Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Okayama, Japan
2019: Seoul International Art Expo., COEX, Seoul, South Korea
2018: Current Expressions of Urushi 2018, Mitsukoshi Department Store Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan
2017: Tama Art University × Challenge Art in Japan—#TAMABI...