Otani Workshop’s Whimsical Monsters Enchant Perrotin New York

Summary

• Japanese artist Otani Workshop has opened anima at Perrotin New York
• The exhibition features a new suite of sculptures, paintings and ceramics
• The showcase expands on the artist’s exploration of animism and spirituality, a recurring theme throughout his practice

Perrotin has lifted the veil on anima, new exhibition by Otani Workshop. Born Shigeru Otani, the Kaikai Ki Ki–backed artist is known for playful, anthropomorphic characters and his latest suite of works delivers nothing short of a fantasy. Blending a Japanese pop sensibility with time-honored ceramic craftsmanship, Otani ushers us into his whimsical world through a display of paintings, bronze and FRP sculptures and ceramics.

Raised in Shigaraki, Japan’s ancient pottery capital, Otani channels the spirit of kawaii into each of his creations. Yet beneath their charmingly cute appearances, lies a mythical, spiritual presence: “My practice is about transforming a bare material into something that has an appearance of life,” the artist wrote upon his 2020 New York solo debut with Perrotin. “As a child, [I] found joy in finding human faces or animals and inanimate objects. Such a way of perceiving the world has something to do with the idea of animism in Japan, which is the belief that all things have a spirit.”

Otani’s process is as intuitive as it is physical. Constantly experimenting with form, firing and glaze, he works with his whole body, allowing spontaneity to shape the final works. This approach gives each piece a distinct vitality, most visible in his endearing FRP busts and ceramic sculptures. Their deliberately unfinished surfaces reveal the artist’s hand, capturing the immediacy and honesty of his method.

As Perrotin notes, “Otani’s figures — both human and animal — are unafraid to express themselves as they are.” In their solitude, Otani’s gentle forms embrace a kind of freedom often lost in the passage from childhood to adulthood, evoking empathy, nostalgia and the beauty of genuine self-expression.

anima is now on view until December 20.

Perrotin New York
130 Orchard Street,
New York, NY, 10002