ARTIST

Tenki Hiramatsu

Tenki Hiramatsu’s paintings begin without specific motifs, and figures subsequently emerge from applying and reworking oil paint over weeks or months, rotating the work in 90° increments. Figures materialize from the depths of initially unrelated backgrounds and traces of brushstrokes, as abstract compositions and colors respond to one another. Hiramatsu describes his creative process as an exploration of existence without purpose.

Tenki Hiramatsu was born in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan in 1986, and is currently based in Berlin. He studied painting at the Nihon University College of Arts, and later at the Staatliche Kunstakademie Karlsruhe. Hiramatsu’s major solo exhibitions include “Never Again” (Kunstverein Rastatt, Rastatt, 2019), “Unendliche Zigarettenpause” (Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, 2023), “Breather” (Sebastian Gladstone, Los Angeles, 2024) and “Slow Living” (Half Gallery, New York, 2024). His work was also featured in group exhibitions such as “Regionale 18 OOO Object Oriented Ontology” (Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, 2017), “Alte Freunde, neue Freunde” (Claas Reiss, London, 2021), and “Splendore – joie, joie, joie…” (Fondation Fernet Branca, Saint-Louis, 2024). Hiramatsu’s work has been acquired by Credit Suisse and Zurich Insurance, among others.

WORKS

BIOGRAPHY

1986 Born in Wakayama, Japan
2009 Graduated from the Department of Design, Communication Design Course, Nihon University College of Art
2016-2019 Attended State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

CV

Solo Exhibitions

2025 “Hira Hira” Super Dakota, Brussels, Belgium
“Is this love? What is sophistication?” Gabi, Leipzig, Germany
“Ibiki(Snoring)” ARTRO, Kyoto, Japan
2024 “Here and Elsewhere” Barbara Seiler Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
“Slow Living” Half Gallery, New York, USA
“Breather” Sebastian Gladstone, Los Angeles, USA
2023 “Unendliche Zigarettenpause” Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany
2022 “Should I Wait For Everyone To Get Up, Or Should I Get Up First?” Barbara Seiler Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
“Where There Is Smoke, There Is No Fire” Sukima Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2021 “Good Con Man” Claas Reiss, London, UK

2020 “Lügen haben Beine” Robert Grunenberg, Berlin, Germany
“Beginner’s Improvisation” Furniture Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2019 “Der Räuber und der Prinz” UNG5, Cologne, Germany
“Never Again” Kunstverein Rastatt, Rastatt, Germany
2013 “Tenki Hiramatsu Solo Exhibition” Hidari Zingaro, Tokyo, Japan

Group Exhibitions

2025 “Penumbral” Galerie Sardine, New York, USA
“Silent Witness” Manshuin Temple, Kyoto, Japan
“IN THE SIGHT OF A MAN” M+M Gallery, Hong Kong
2024 “Beau Travail” Zirkusgasse, Vienna, Austria
“Scotopia” Cabin, New York, USA
“Hecht im Karpfenteich” ßpace, Karlsruhe, Germany
“Entropy” 4 Princelet Street, London, UK
“Moon River” Cage Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“Splendore – joie, joie, joie...” Fondation Fernet Branca, Saint-Louis, France
“... und mir ist, als öffnet ein verwandter Geist mir die Arme ...*” Kunstverein Wilhelmshöhe, Ettlingen, Germany
2023 “Me and My Shadow / My Shadow and I” Europa, New York, USA
“defenders of faith” Luis Leu, Karlsruhe, Germany
“Tenki and Jerry” Castle, Los Angeles, USA
“Es Steht kein Zebra vor der Tür” galerie brötzinger art e.v., Pforzheim, Germany
“a hint of anesthesia” Colony Club, Vienna, Austria
“Realms” JVDW, Dusseldorf, Germany
2022 “This Space Exists Without Me” Laube, Karlsruhe, Germany
“Le Sacre du Printemps” Barbara Seiler, Zurich, Switzerland
2021 “Alte Freunde, neue Freunde” Claas Reiss, London, UK
“A Couple of” Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
“Stiff Neck” Giulietta, Basel, Switzerland
“Mandibula” SOA, Krefeld, Germany
“Tokyo Express” AN+ Art and Design Center, Shenzhen, China
“Ecosystems of Relations” super dakota, Brussels, Belgium

2020 “Autumn Leaves” Laube, Karlsruhe, Germany
“SUBJECT SITTING IN A DARKENED ROOM” Barbara Seiler, Zurich, Switzerland
“OPEN AIR” Tong Art Advisory, East Hampton, USA
“Abstract with Figure” James Fuentes, New York, USA
“Sincere Intentions” Robert Grunenberg, Berlin, Germany
“Give me a reason” Villa Gellertstraße, Karlsruhe, Germany
2019 “When Karl Met Trixie” Trixie, Den Haag, Netherlands
“Gebiete” ßpace, theartape, Karlsruhe, Germany
“BABES” Luis Leu, Karlsruhe, Germany
“DUNE” Barbara Seiler, Zurich, Switzerland
“Tales of the Haunted and the Body” Casa Cristea Schneider, Berlin, Germany
“der horizontale Berg” Orgelfabrik Durlach, Karlsruhe, Germany
2018 “P2P” Barbara Seiler, Zurich, Switzerland
“Fairy Dust & Wanderlust” Ornis A. Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
“I like to dream I like to think, I like to dream that i think that i dream” Luis Leu, Karlsruhe, Germany
“Ohio” Offkultur e.V., Offenburg, Germany
2017 “Der Turm” Orgelfabrik Durlach, Karlsruhe, Germany
“the rooftop is not the end the rooftop is not the end” Kinemathek Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany
“Regionale 18 OOO Object Oriented Ontology” Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland
“UND#9” Karlsruhe, Germany
2015 “3331 Chiyoda Arts Festival: Scholarship Exhibition vol. 5” 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
2014 “3331 Chiyoda Art Festival” 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
2013 “GEISAI #19” Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center TAITO-KAN, Tokyo, Japan

Public Collections

Burger COLLECTION, Zurich, Switzerland
Credit Suisse, Switzerland
X Museum, Beijing, China
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, Switzerland

Awards

2022 Kunstpreis der Werner-Stober-Stiftung
2017 Kunstverein Rastatt Kunstpreis
2014 3331 Chiyoda Art Festival, Judge's Prize, Kotaro Iizawa Prize
2013 GEISAI #19, Judge's Prize, Mika Yoshitake Prize

ARTIST WEBSITE

https://www.tenkihiramatsu.com