Kensuke Shimizu has been making creative works, in which visual art & writing are as if they were inside each other and intersecting each other. In his art, bicycles are seen as a symbol of the relationship between human beings & the natural environment. Shoes & shoelaces are a symbol of communication. Female human characters often appear as characters of stories.   

Solo Exhibitions: 

2010. Gallery Hibiya, Tokyo, Japan 

2009. Galleria Arsnet, Turku, Finland

 2008. Gallery Cafe Kamefuku, Tokyo, Japan 

2006. Gallery Togeisha, Tokyo, Japan 

2005. Galleria Arsnet, Turku, Finland

 2005. Corridor Gallery at International Cultural Centre Caisa, Helsinki, Finland 

2005. Galleria Ulaani, Helsinki, Finland

 2005. Mansikkapaikka cafe, Turku, Finland 

2004. International Meeting Point, Turku, Finland

 2004. Galerii 36, Tallinn, Estonia  

Group Exhibitions, Collective Exhibitions, Competitions, and so on:

2009. Selected to be included in the book “International Contemporary Masters Volume III” (published in 2010 by World Wide Art Books) 

2009. Collective exhibition “The Saturated Palette”, Agora Gallery, New York, USA 

2009. Exhibition with Eeva Airaksinen. Seinäjoen taidehalli Studio, Seinäjoki, Finland 

2009. 19th International Biennial of Humour and Satire in the Arts, Museum HOUSE OF HUMOUR AND SATIRE, Gabrovo, Bulgaria 

2008. Exhibition of Peace Machine, Hansatori in Turku, Finland 

2007. Florence Biennale (Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea), Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Italy 

2007. Exhibition of Peace Machine, Viikinsaari in Tampere, Finland

2006. Exhibition of Peace Machine, outdoor garden at the Botanical Garden of the University of Turku in Ruissalo, Finland 

2006. Exhibition of Peace Machine, Kaisaniemi Park, Helsinki, Finland, at the World Village Festival

2005. Art installation “Turku Peace Machine”, Kauppatori (Market Square), Turku, Finland. In the multicultural festival “Mahdollisuuksien tori (Markets of Possibilities)” 

2004. Exhibition in the event “Taiteiden yö (Night of the Arts)”, International Meeting Point, Turku, Finland 

2004.  Exhibition of 5 artists, International Meeting Point, Turku, Finland 

2002.  Competition  “Zen-nihon Art Salon Kaiga Taishou-ten”. Osaka, Japan.

1992.  Exhibition of 3 artists, Gallery Miharaya, Tokyo, Japan  

Illustration: 

2009: The reddish orange monochrome image of the painting “Mademoiselle Dancing Thinking” (original painting is multicolored) was used as the cover image of the book “Suunnaksi suomen kieli” (publication of the Department of Finnish and General Linguistics of the University of Turku) 

2005: Illustrations in the Annual Report

2004 of the Directorate of Immigration (subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, Finland) 

Television appearance: 

2005 February 5th: TV appearance in the program “Lauantaivekkari” (on Yle1, Finland) as the program’s artist of the week. Interview about 5 minutes. Art works were exhibited in the program in the TV studio.   

Art works in collections:

Humour of the Peoples art collection of the Museum HOUSE OF HUMOUR AND SATIRE,
in Gabrovo, Bulgaria (donation to this collection in 2009).  Uebiru clinic in Tokyo, Japan (art works purchased in 2009).  Books written by Kensuke Shimizu:  2009:  “London Finland Musou-tanpenshuu” (published in 2009 by V2-solution, Nagoya, Japan) - his short stories in Japanese. Cover painting is also by him. 2009: “Dreamlike Voyages of Artists” (first printed in Finland in 2009 by Kirja kerrallaan, Lasipalatsi, Helsinki) - his poems and stories in English and other languages. Cover painting is also by him.  

Education: 

2005-present: University of Turku, Finland. Doctoral program. Major: European Ethnology. Research topic: Lights in Finland and Japan, Christmas lights, Visuality, and so on. 2002-2005: University of Turku, Finland. Master’s degree program in Baltic Sea Region Studies. MA in Ethnology/Baltic Sea Region Studies (2005).  1999-2000: University College London / School of Slavonic & East European Studies (UCL / SSEES), University of London, UK. Studied Finland’s Literature, Finnish, Hungarian, and Hungarian Culture. 1997-1999: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.  Studied Finnish. 1992-1996: Waseda University, Japan.  BA in Human Sciences (1996). Major: Health Sciences. Studied Psychology of Fine Arts, Environmental Psychology, and so on.