ITO Hirotoshi

1982
1958

B.F.A., Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
Born in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture

Ito is very active in promoting the growing contemporary craft traditions of Nagano area, and twenty years ago he and his friends initiated a grass roots project which has grown into an annual craft festival in Matsumoto City, for which he now serves as President.

Solo Exhibitions

2025

2019
2017

2016

2013
2012
2011

2010
2009
2007
2006

Numerous number of solo and group exhibitions are held all over the place in Japan since 1982.

Takamatsushi Ishinominzoku Museum, Kagawa
The Kiseki Museum of World Stones
Pleasure of Paradox, Keiko Art International
Mysterious Stones, Gallery Little High, Tokyo (’15)
Nagoya Mitsukoshi, Aichi
Ito Hirotoshi Stone Works, Gallery Space M, Gunma
Gallery Hiro, Nagano
Sibuya Seibu, Tokyo
NUKUNUKU, Saitama
Pleasure of Paradox ’11, KEIKO Gallery, Boston (’08)
Ikebukuro Seibu, Tokyo
Tennozu Aisle, Tokyo
Marble and Stone Sculpture, Gallery East, Australia
Tennozu Aisle, Tokyo
Laughing Stone, Asahi Museum, Nagano

Group Exhibitions

2018

2017-8
2017
2015-6
2013
2009

2008
2007
2001
1992
1990

Artists’ Night, 2018, Villa Domuse, Honfleur, France
Ito Hirotoshi + Satoh Yohichi, Inoue Gallery(’16, ’14,’12)
Exposition Caillou Papier Ciseaux, Spacejunk Art Centers, Bayonne, Lyon, Grenoble
Fantastiske Figurationer, Galerie Knud Grothe, Denmark(’16, ’15)
HEY! Act III, Modern Art & Pop Culture, Mairie de Paris, France
Art Fair Tokyo, Tokyo
Perfect Fit—Shoes Tell Stories, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton MA
MIASA EXHIBIT, Mendocino, CA SOFA New York　(’08, ’07)
SOFA Chicago (’07,’06)
Japan Month in Houston: Contemporary Japanese Arts and Crafts
Designed and Produced a Monument for Azumino Chihiro Museum
Exhibition-Abitare II Tempo, Verona, Italy
Tokyo Daily Art Competition

Awards

2002
2000
1997
1989
1987

The Fifth Trick Art Competition
The Forth Trick Art Competition
The Third Trick Art Competition
Atelier Nouveau Competition
Atelier Nouveau Competition

Collections/ Public Art

Matsumoto City Library, Nagano
Shiroyama Park, Matsumoto, Nagano
Saint Paul Church, Karuizawa, Nagano
Hofukuji, Shigamura, Nagano
Love and the People’s Path, Nerima, Tokyo
Chihiro Museum, Azumino, Nagano

Press

HEY! Modern Art & Pop Culture
Japan Economic Newspaper
Japan Economic Newspaper
Front Cover, Kokuyo Notebook
CD Jacket, Marvel, Ukraine
Front Cover, British Dental Journal
JAPANSK GRAFIK och Skulpturer av Ito Hirotoshi, Sweden
The Sun, England
Toxel.com England
Stone Ideas, Germany

Medias

TV Asashi, Design Code
Fuji Television
Osaka Yomiuri Television
NHK, Evening Shinshu
Nippon Television

My family has been involved in stone work since 1879. From my birth I grew up surrounded by various kinds of stone and work such as stone lanterns and graves tones. Although I was determined to eventually take over my family business, I entered the Metal Work Department of Tokyo University of the Arts. The stimulating encounters with other metal artists in the school, and their work, became the foundation of my way of thinking and of my creativity. My work can be divided into two groups. One is solid sculpture carved from marble or granite where I alter the natural surface of the stone into sculptural forms that do not appear to be stone but some other material. The other group is made from beach stones where I use the natural forms of the stones and make alterations and additions that give the natural stones different character. All of my work in both categories relates to the ordinary images, objects and experiences in daily life. A prominent characteristic of both types of my work is my attempt to create the illusion that the stone is something MORE than stone or is a different material altogether. Matsumoto City, where I live, is surrounded by splendid mountains and is richly endowed with natural beauty. The stones delivered from these mountains have been washed by fresh streams of water over very long periods of time, and each stone has a unique form that has been created naturally. As I gather stones on the riverbank, I imagine stories and works of art I can create with them. However, I try to emphasize the natural shapes, colors and beauty of these stone and generally try not to change their original shapes. Respecting and utilizing the natural characteristics of original material is a very old and important aspect of Japanese culture. We have a concept of creativity known as mitate, which involves creating new values by taking something that holds certain significance in one context and placing it in a different context. A typical example is the raked gravel in a temple garden that resembles flowing water. Although I am a contemporary artist I feel that such ancient Japanese concepts are deeply embedded in my DNA.