Ikuru Kuwajima artist/photographer

Ikuru Kuwajima is an artist and photographer originally from Japan but educated in the University of Missouri, Columbia, as a journalism major.  He lived and worked in post-Soviet countries for 17 years  (Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia etc). He is fluent in Japanese, Russian, English, Ukrainian and French and knows a little bit of Romanian. He's currently travelling between Europe and Asia. 

Selected Exhibitions

Solo Shows

Ogres novada lauka pētījumi (Ogre History and Art Museum, Latvia, 2024)
Two Seas (Narva Art Residency, Estonia, 2024)
“Sentier” (Musée des Arts Asiatiques de Nice, France, 2020)
Repatriatsiya (Peresvetov Pereulok Art Gallery, Moscow, 2019)
I, Oblomov (The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow, 2018)
Trail (la galerienomade, Arles, France 2017)
Circle of Ruins (part of Baltic Photo Biennale, Kaliningrad, Russia, 2017)

Group Shows

Bruno Taut - Ein Haus in Istanbul (Hamburg, 2023)
Ural Industrial Biennale (Ekaterinburg, 2021)
Krasnoyarsk Biennale (Krasnoyarsk, 2019)
Japonohara (Annecy, France, 2019)
YICCA 2018 Final Exhibition (Zagreb, 2019)
Recontres Internationales Paris/Berlin Cont. Mov. Images (Paris/Berlin, 2018)
Boutographies (Montpellier, France, 2017)
Fotografia Europia (Reggio Emilia, Italy, 2016)
between the lines – an artist books exhibition (London, 2016)
Venice Biennale’s Central Asian Pavilion (2013)
Kiyosato Young Portfolio (Japan, 2011, 2013, 2014)
Noorderlicht  (Netherlands, 2011)

Published Artist Books

I, Oblomov (The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow, 2017)
Tundra Kids (Schlebrugge.Editor, Vienna, 2015)

Artist Residency

Otte 1 (Eckernförde, Germany, Apr. - June 2025) 

Artist Residency in Ogre, Latvia (Ogre, Latvia, Jun. - Nov. 2024) 

Narva Artist Residency (Narva, Estonia, Jan. - Feb. 2024)

ISSP Residency (Riga, Latvia, Dec. 2022)
Laznia Residency (Gdansk, Poland, November 2022)
Muzych Residency (Muzych, Ukraine, October 2022)
Helikon Residency (Izmit, Turkey, August 2022)
Kintai Residency (Kintai, Lithuania, June 2022)
Ural Industrial Biennale (Nizhniy Tagil, Russia, July-August 2021)
Sep Art Residence (Sep, the Udmurt Republic, Russia, February 2020)
Vyksa Air (Vyksa, Russia, October 2019)

 

Published / Clients

National Geographic Japan/Romania, TIME Magazine’s Lightbox, Newsweek Japan, Le Monde, Save the Children, Marie Claire, New York Times Lens Blog, McGarry Bowen, Forbes Magazine, Guardian, Esquire Russia, Flow Magazine, Marie Claire.