Arisa OGURO

Born in Tokyo in 1990. She graduated from the Department of Sculpture, College of Art and Design at Musashino Art University in 2013.

Growing up in a nature-rich environment, Arisa Oguro developed a deep interest in the animals that lived around her. While in university, she became fascinated by the rounded forms and tactile charm of netsuke, and began carving netsuke on her own. This experience later led her to create the small wooden sculptures that define her current artistic practice. She says, “I hope viewers can feel the gentle world of these creatures through the warmth of wood.”

The motif of Arisa Oguro’s work is the Kyūjū—mysterious, rounded animals born from her imagination, with exaggerated spherical forms. She masterfully conveys the vitality and lovable presence of these creatures by condensing their postures, expressions, and movements into smooth, rounded shapes carved in wood. “To create sculptures that make people want to reach out and touch them, I carve each piece carefully down to the back, so they can be enjoyed from every angle,” she explains.

Her Kyūjū wooden sculptures have been exhibited at department stores throughout Japan. She has held numerous solo exhibitions, including:

“Arisa Oguro Exhibition — Tama to Kemono” (2015, Ginza Mitsukoshi Gallery),
“Arisa Oguro Sculpture Exhibition — Another Blessed Day with Kyūjū” (2017, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Art Square),
“Arisa Oguro Sculpture Exhibition — Spirit-Beasts of Wa” (2019, Osaka Takashimaya),
“Arisa Oguro Exhibition — Upward” (2021, Shinjuku Takashimaya),
“Arisa Oguro Exhibition — The Circle of Life” (2022, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi),
“Arisa Oguro Exhibition — Searching for Stars” (2022, Yokohama Takashimaya), among others.

She has also participated in many curated exhibitions such as “Fusing Craft” (Osaka Takashimaya Gallery, Wako Ginza) and “HOPE – Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Next-Generation 100 Selected Artists Exhibition” (Nihombashi Mitsukoshi).

In 2013, she received the Excellence Award at the Musashino Art University Graduate Exhibition.