Tetsuya Ishiyama

Tetsuya Ishiyama was born in Saitama, Japan. He has undertaken artist residencies in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, building an extensive exhibition record and holding numerous solo exhibitions across Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. He previously worked at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, where he developed strong expertise in both artistic practice and kiln-firing techniques, demonstrating a high level of maturity and technical excellence. His work has received wide recognition, including the Shiga Prefecture Cultural Arts Encouragement Award and the Excellence Prize at the Taiwan International Ceramics Biennale. He holds a significant presence among mid-career artists in Japan and is also highly regarded in Taiwan, where he currently resides and continues his practice.

Conceptually, Ishiyama’s work centers on the process of “transformation of existence.” Through the imagination and reinterpretation of various figures, he captures the moment in which ordinary forms are transformed into icons—figures that embody an emergent sense of divinity. He is particularly interested in how beings that are not originally divine gradually acquire a sense of divinity through shifts in consciousness. With refined and dynamic sculptural forms, the artist creates distinctive and vividly characterized divine figures, using these works as a gateway to explore unknown realms and expand the imaginative possibilities between reality and the unseen.