2024
2023
2022
2021
Shinji Horimura is a contemporary Japanese artist known for his powerful portrayals of traditional masculinity.
Self-taught in art, he has developed a distinctive visual language by blending classical materials—washi paper, sumi ink, and mineral pigments—with techniques like woodblock printing, collage, and stenciling.
These methods give his work a rich, textured quality, fusing fine art with street aesthetics.
His subjects are robust Japanese men, often clad in traditional festival garments or fundoshi(loincloth), captured in moments where physicality and spirituality intersect.
Rooted in Shinto rituals and myth, they embody both strength and vulnerability, stillness and fervor.
Through bold forms and intuitive compositions, Horimura expresses the raw energy of festivals and the quiet intensity of everyday masculinity.
Before becoming a full-time artist, Horimura worked as a display designer in New York City and practiced holistic therapy based on Eastern medicine. Raised in Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city, he had a strong curiosity about the world beyond Japan. After a year studying in Australia, he majored in anthropology (African Studied) at university.
At 25, he moved to New York, graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and began painting while working as a display designer.
His early works, inspired by global ethnic cultures, featured vibrant male figures drawn from Polynesian, Latin American, and Southeast Asian influences.
After living in New York City for 11 years, Horimura returned to Japan and began to rediscover its cultural richness. Exploring remote regions and traditional festivals, he became deeply fascinated by the unique aesthetics and spirituality of Japanese rituals.
This marked a turning point in his artistic journey, leading him to adopt traditional materials and techniques that were fading in the face of modernization.
Now based in Osaka, Horimura continues to exhibit primarily in Tokyo and Osaka, while actively sharing his work internationally.
