Nobuo Sasaki

Nobuo Sasaki was born in Hokkaido in 1956. He began living in a social welfare institution in Hokkaido from 1970 due to mental health issues. To date he has lived in four different institutions where, alongside his art, he does agriculture, textiles and woodworking. His focus has recently moved back to woodworking.

In 2006 his current institution created a pottery workshop called Studio YY, and this is when he began his 3D ceramic artworks. He references animal illustrated books and photographs from magazines when he creates his ceramics. The motifs in his ceramics are usually animals, such as gorillas, bears, birds, and often the appearance of old friends. He forms his ceramics by building clay onto rolled and rounded newspaper forms, adding extra clay to form the features. He uses various needle sizes to create the texture on the outer layers. Sasaki wants women to pay more attention to him, and so often makes his animals form have a feminine appearance.

2023 Why We Linger, Darbyshire, London
2019 日本の陶芸家 三人展 SAWADA | KONTANI | SASAKI, Sway Gallery, London
2018 North Japan Art Brut, Group exhibition, Oodouri Museum, Sapporo, Japan
2017 Art Brut Hokkaido, Group exhibition, Ki-niseko Gallery, Japan
2016 Art Brut Hokkaido, Group exhibition, Hokkaido University of Education, Iwamizawa School, Japan