Hanga
Masayuki Tsubota — Japanese Contemporary Mokuhanga artist

Masayuki Tsubota

坪田昌之

1976

Japan

Biography

Masayuki Tsubota is a contemporary Japanese sculptor whose vibrant, relief-based works oscillate between density and playfulness. Born in 1976 in Osaka, he majored in sculpture at Osaka University of Arts, where he earned his master's degree.

Tsubota works with a diverse range of materials — including wood, often basswood, along with stone, mineral pigments, gesso, acrylic, and metal foils such as tin and gold — producing pieces that combine the tactile richness of natural materials with the spatial ambition of contemporary abstraction. His compositions are characterized by vibrant colors, textures, and radiant movements built upon solid structural foundations, forming images that change flexibly according to the viewer's perspective and stir up the surrounding space.

Though not a printmaker in the traditional sense, Tsubota's practice reflects the same concern with surface, material, and process that animates much contemporary Japanese art. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions including 'Unknown Memories' with Whitestone Gallery in 2024, and in group exhibitions such as 'Serenity' at Whitestone Gallery in 2025.

Tsubota is represented by Whitestone Gallery and has exhibited internationally across its galleries in Asia. His work extends the Japanese tradition of material-focused art-making into a contemporary idiom.

Key Facts

Active Period
1976
Nationality
🇯🇵Japan
Works Indexed
26

Frequently Asked Questions

Masayuki Tsubota is a contemporary Japanese sculptor whose vibrant, relief-based works oscillate between density and playfulness. Born in 1976 in Osaka, he majored in sculpture at Osaka University of Arts, where he earned his master's degree.

Masayuki Tsubota was active born in 1976. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga movement.

Masayuki Tsubota's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques.

Woodblock Prints by Masayuki Tsubota (26)

the wall of self_gs6ft1  by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_gs6ft1

2012

Gesso on basswood, tin foil

the wall of self_vstfw1 by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_vstfw1

2013

Gesso, oil on basswood, tin foil

the layer of self_vfm5 by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_vfm5

2014

Gesso, pigment, acrylic on basswood

the wall of self_idgswtfigl2  by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_idgswtfigl2

2014

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments, glue on basswood, tin foil

the layer of self_indl1 by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_indl1

2014

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on basswood

the wall of self_gssnhus by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_gssnhus

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on basswood, tin foil

the layer of self_gfv5hs by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_gfv5hs

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on basswood

The layer of self_indlhshy1 by Masayuki Tsubota

The layer of self_indlhshy1

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments, glue on basswood

the layer of self_yohs by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_yohs

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on basswood

the layer of self_gfind15_L1 by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_gfind15_L1

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on MDF

the wall of self_vigginhi5 by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_vigginhi5

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on basswood, tin foil

the core of self_vscy5  by Masayuki Tsubota

the core of self_vscy5

2015

Gesso, pigment, acrylic on basswood,tin foil

the wall of self_gsnhf1 by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_gsnhf1

2015

Gesso, pigment, glue on basswood

the layer of self_gfkkl by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_gfkkl

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments, glue on basswood

the wall of self_inddks2 by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_inddks2

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments, glue on basswood, tin foil

the layer of self_nhkyn1  by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_nhkyn1

2015

Powdered mineral pigments , glue on basswood

The layer of self_vym1 by Masayuki Tsubota

The layer of self_vym1

2015

Gesso, pigment, acrylic on basswood, tin foil

the wall of self_gshs3s by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_gshs3s

2015

Gesso on basswood

the wall of self_gfsss5 by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_gfsss5

2015

Gesso on MDF

the wall of self_iorufstf1 by Masayuki Tsubota

the wall of self_iorufstf1

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on basswood, tin foil

the layer of self_gfidl1  by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_gfidl1

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on MDF

the layer of self_iginnn1 by Masayuki Tsubota

the layer of self_iginnn1

2015

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments , glue on basswood

The Core of Self by Masayuki Tsubota

The Core of Self

2019

Gesso, pigment, acrylic on basswood, tin foil

The Core of Self_tvlsctf1 by Masayuki Tsubota

The Core of Self_tvlsctf1

2023

Gesso, powdered mineral pigments on basswood, tin foil