Exhibitions
2009 "Shabu Shabu" Ethan Cohen Fine Arts New York, NY
2005 Group Exhibition "Le Petit Prince - Young Male Artists" at AG Gallery, Brooklyn
2005 Became Collection of Williamsburg Art & Historical Center
2004 Dance Performance with Punk Rock Band "I Love You" at Knitting Factory, New York City
2004 Action Paiting Show at PS1, New York City
2003 Action Mural Painting of the Thai Restaurant ”Khaosan” on Bedford Avenue
2003 Action Painting Show with improvisational music by Tim Barnes at BPM, Brooklyn
2003 Group Exibition at the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (Williamsburg, NY)
2001 The 2nd Onomichi Canvas Exhibition (Hiroshima, Japan)
1999 Work for the Jacket of Music Album "YA! LUKA LUKA" (Osaka, Japan)
1999 Solo Exhibition at the Kobe Cultural Exchange Center (Kobe,Japan)
Other Information
Katsuma’s career as an artist started homeless on the streets of Osaka, Japan. Wanting more than this, he bought a pen and notebook, and started to draw portraits of the passerbys. Ater two years, Ryoga made his way to New York, finally achieving his dream of becoming a professional artist.
Once in New York, Ryoga’s dramatic energy, boundless passion and seemingly limitless expressions turn every act of drawing and painting into a powerful performance whether he is creating on the street, a gallery or his studio. In 2007, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts arranged an artistic “Challenge Match” between this young action painter and the Ushio Shinohara, the 76 year-old founder of Japan’s Post-War Neo-Dada movement, and master “Boxing Painter”. Ryoga Katsuma threw his whole body and spirit on to this the large freestanding canvas. In the end, the competition was declared a draw by the “referee”, Ethan Cohen, and the older generation and new generation of great action/performance painters came together to produce a bond of art and friendship…and a truly memorable time for each spectator!
Another type of Ryoga’s performance work springs from the deep roots of traditional Japanese children’s storytelling theater, “Kamishibai”. Ryoga transforms these traditional tales into an original story of his life with original paintings. This story itself was created while he was living on the street in Osaka, and his emotional, humorous and, at times explosive, performance of this work is a great an memorable experience to all those present.
Artist Statement
“My way of painting is that first, I feel free to paint like a child, and then, I choose a favorite color and theme. The rebuilding of these ideas on canvas comes from infinite ideas that only innocent children can have. To have child’s spirit is a special skill, and also the painting technique that only some of the experienced adults can have is the source of my art works.”