- 1981
- Born in Shiga, Japan.
- 2005
- Graduated from Osaka University of Arts.
Solo Exhibitions
- 2012
- "The Catastrophic Spectator", Frantic Gallery, Tokyo
- 2010
- "The Scene of Accident" Frantic Gallery, Tokyo
- 2006
- "The Creation", Gallery Iteza, Kyoto
- 2005
- "Did my time", Gallery Iteza, Kyoto
- 2004
- "Heart full of pain", Gallery Iteza, Kyoto
- 2003
- "Boys don't cry", GUILD Gallery, Osaka
Group Exhibitions
- 2011
- "2011 FRANTIC UNDERLINES", Frantic Gallery, Tokyo
- 2010
- "2010 FRANTIC UNDERLINES Part 1", Frantic Gallery, Tokyo
Oxidized Reality, The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma2010
"frantic drawings", Frantic Gallery, Tokyo. - 2009
- "TANAGOKORO 9" Radi-um -Roentgenwerke, Tokyo.
- 2008
- "Moeglichkeit", Radi-um -Roentgenwerke, Tokyo.
"Negative/Art Vol.5", GEISAI Museum2, Tokyo. - 2007
- "Negative/Art Vol.4", Osaka Contemporary Art Centre Osaka.
"Negative/Art Vol.3", Gallery Wks, Osaka. - 2006
- Vanilla Gallery, Tokyo.
"Negative/Art Vol.2", Dohjidai Gallery on Art, Kyoto. - 2005
- "Negative/Art Vol.1", Dohjidai Gallery of Art, Kyoto.
- 2003
- "Dot", CASO, Osaka.
Important Private and Public Collections
The Museum Of Modern Art, GunmaNaoki Sasayama directs his artistic attention to the inseparable topics of life and death. His first significant series of works was "Mountains", a set of oil paintings created between 2003 and 2004, that depict dramatic skies of dark green or grey and mountains with a corporeal softness. Appearing as if they were inner organs or stalagmites, the images of these mountains clearly manifest the artist’s interest in the body-landscape; the physics and the morphology of death; and the visual effects of disfiguration.
Since 2003, Sasayama created numerous self-portraits in which the young artist’s inner conflicts, doubts and self-destructive impulses come to the surface of his body in the form of injuries, dismemberment or rot, exploring psychological problems of "being closed or opened", "decay/degradation", and "separation" to its radical and direct manifestation.
Starting in 2005, Sasayama researched the death penalty in American and created a series of paintings titled "The Last Meal" (2005-2008). Nine watercolor works present the name of a criminal sentenced to death, his crime, the date of his execution, details of the case and the last desire of the sentenced man, namely, the image of the last meal he was free to order before his execution.
Series titled "The Scene of the Accident" have roots from as early as 2004. It was at this point Sasayama started to produce his own dense watercolor paints (mixing glycerin, pigment, ethanol and other materials) to illustrate the consequences of fatal events. The scenes of catastrophes are presented as vivid patterned carpets with no clear distinction between figures, no definite silhouette lines, no structure and almost no composition. The visual aspect of the scenes of car crashes develop their own imaginary, similar to arabesque patterns and non-figural (or post-figural) abstractions. At the same time, thanks to the dense "fleshy" watercolors, the image of the mortal incidents paradoxically have a light, lively sensibility. The steel frames of the cars and the men inside are not just crushed, but experience such a strong collision that it is as if the metal has accidentally swallowed the corporeal: the pieces of the catastrophe and the place of the accident are soaked with human-like softness and warmth. In this way, while presenting the heavy scenery of dead bodies and ruined technology, "The Scene of the Accident" bursts with vitality and the lusciousness of life, grasping both sides of the accident: its "life" and its "death".
![]() ![]() |
![]() Naoki Sasayama Solo Show ![]() For description of original watercolor production method by N.Sasayama see the catalogue of "The Scene of the Accident" Exhibition. |
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_FU1001.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- The New World/Hunting 1
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 45.5x53
- Year
- 2010
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- Pigozzi Collection, Geneve
- Ref.No
- NSS_FU1001
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_FU1002.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- The New World/Hunting 2
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 91.0x72.7
- Year
- 2010
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- Private Collection, USA
- Ref.No
- NSS_FU1002
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_SA1001.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Accident in the Monitor side 01
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130.3x162
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_SA1001
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_SA1002.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Accident in the Monitor side 02
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130.3x162
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_SA1002
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_SA1003.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Egocentric Story 01
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130.3x162
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_SA1003
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_SA1004.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Egocentric Story 02
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130.3x130.3
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_SA1004
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_SA1005.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Damage Report 01
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130.3x194
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_SA1005
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_SA1006.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Damage Report 02
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130.3x194
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_SA1006
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_SA1007.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- City Sightseeing
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130.3x194
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- Private Collection, Singapore
- Ref.No
- NSS_SA1007
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_SA1008.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Masochism
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130.3x162
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- Private Collection, Singapore
- Ref.No
- NSS_SA1008
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_CA1009.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- The Kiss of Devil
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 91x72.7
- Year
- 2010
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_CA1009
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_CA1010.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Abnormal Girls 01
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 72.7x50
- Year
- 2010
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_CA1010
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_CA1011.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Abnormal Girls 02
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 53x45.5
- Year
- 2010
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_CA1011
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_fd1001.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- The New World 01
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 72.7x60.6
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- 95000
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- Pigozzi Collection, Geneva
- Ref.No
- NSS_fd1001
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_fd1002.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- The New World 02
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 41x31.8
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- 55000
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_fd1002
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_fd1003.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- The New World 03
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 41x31.8
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- 55000
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_fd1003
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_fd1004.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- The New World 04
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 41x31.8
- Year
- 2009
- Edition
- 55000
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_fd1004
![purchase](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_Ds01.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Untitled
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 60x42
- Year
- 2004
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_Ds01
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_Ds02.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Untitled
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 53.5x45.5
- Year
- 2004
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_Ds02
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_Ds04.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Untitled
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 65.5x53.5
- Year
- 2004
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_Ds04
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_Ds05.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Untitled
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 41.5x32
- Year
- 2004
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_Ds05
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_11002.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Once Again
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 162x130.3
- Year
- 2011
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_11002
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_11001.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Cleaner
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 130x162
- Year
- 2011
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_11001
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_11006.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- The Cleaner 01
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 53x33
- Year
- 2011
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_11006
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_11007.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Abnormal Girls03
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper/panel
- Size (cm)
- 45.5x53
- Year
- 2011
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_11007
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_11003.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Black Rain No.1
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper
- Size (cm)
- 53x33.3
- Year
- 2011
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_11003
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_11004.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Black Rain No.2
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper
- Size (cm)
- 22.7x22
- Year
- 2011
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_11004
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/NSS_11005.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Black Rain No.3
- Art
- painting
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper
- Size (cm)
- 22.7x15.8
- Year
- 2011
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
- NSS_11005
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/SN_1.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Little witch's plan
- Art
- drawing
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper
- Size (cm)
- 112x145.5
- Year
- 2012
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/SN_2.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Courtship of the devil
- Art
- drawing
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper
- Size (cm)
- 72.7x91
- Year
- 2012
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/SN_3.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Blue Sky
- Art
- drawing
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper
- Size (cm)
- 91x72.7
- Year
- 2012
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)
![](/ja/artist/img/SN_4.jpg)
- Artist Name
- 笹山直規/Naoki Sasayama
- Title
- Deep Sleep
- Art
- drawing
- Media
- watercolor on montvale paper
- Size (cm)
- 53x54.5
- Year
- 2012
- Edition
- original
- Frame
- not framed
- Status
- available
- Ref.No
![Purchase Inquieries](/en/artist/img/btn_buy.png)