Main du Saint-Esprit, 2017

Akira Inumaru  

Akira Inumaru, a contemporary Japanese artist, was born in 1984 in Ibaraki. After studying at the Suidobata School of Art and the Musashino University of Fine Arts in Tokyo, he moved to France in 2008. He continued his training at the École Supérieure d'Art et Design Le Havre-Rouen, where he obtained his DNA and DNSEP. His work is distinguished by a plastic research around light, which he captures using a unique technique, solar distillation. He uses a magnifying glass to concentrate the sun's rays and delicately burn the paper, creating compositions reminiscent of the processes of photosynthesis.

Her artistic universe revolves around the relationship between light and plants. Flowers, leaves and gardens are omnipresent in her work, translated through various media mixing natural pigments, glitter, drawing, painting and photography. This meticulous work gives birth to works where shadow and light coexist in a poetic tension, evoking both fragility and resilience.

Akira Inumaru has received numerous awards, including the Yuji Akatsuka Prize and the Akihiko Takami Prize in Japan, as well as the Antoine Marin Prize in France. He has also participated in artist residencies at Villa Calderón, the Tatsuno Art Project in Japan, and the Labo Victor Hugo in Rouen. His work is represented in public collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow (MOCAK).

He has exhibited in numerous galleries and institutions throughout Europe and Japan. His solo exhibitions include Ignis Fatuus (Paris, 2013), From One Light to Another (Boulbon, Noyon, Paris, 2015), Incandescence (Bordeaux, 2017), Botany (Orangerie du Sénat, Paris, 2018), Germination (Lille, 2019), My Dear Garden (Château de Villandry, 2023), and Garden of Lights (Bordeaux, 2024). He has also participated in numerous international group exhibitions.

His work draws inspiration from land art, botanical art, and a reflection on the role of light as an artistic medium. Through his creations, Akira Inumaru invites a sensitive contemplation of life and natural energy.