Originally from Gifu Prefecture, Japan, artist Yoshi 47 moved to California at the age of twenty to pursue his professional art career. He spent four years in the Bay area doing live painting and participating in both solo exhibitions and art events.
While living in San Francisco, he discovered a small group of avid bicyclists and became a bike messenger. It was through his experience as a courier that he found his essence of life and the conceptual basis for his art which interweaves narratives of freedom, mood and transportation. Yoshi 47 often tells his story through the personification of natural elements and depicts his own positive affinity with cycling and traversing his immediate world.
In 2006 he returned to Japan, initially living in Tokyo, where he continued to work as a messenger becoming involved in the bicycle industry. He eventually relocated to Kariya City to focus on his art.
Yoshi 47 currently resides in the countryside in Chita Peninsula where he can ride, surf, fish, camp and snowboard freely. The artists professional pursuits extend to curating, graphic design, and various collaborative projects and he continues to exhibit his artwork worldwide in places such as Australia, China, America, Canada, France, Mexico, Sweden, and Taiwan.
2022 “I’m back” at Anno Domini Gallery (San Jose, USA)
2022 “ASOBU” at Calif Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2017 “Internal Nature” at Space Orbit Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2017 “#無料欲望” at Manhood Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2016 “Art not Image” at Hellion Gallery (Portland, USA)
2016 “Go Bonkers” at HASHTAG Gallery (Toronto, Canada)
2014 “Under the seven deadly suns” at Sports Lab by atmos (Tokyo, Japan)
2014 “Archive Exhibition” at NOS ORG Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2013 “Monsters in your mind” at Studio 55 Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2012 “夢現 Monsters in your mind” at AMP Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2011 “Monsters in your mind” at SiSi Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2010 “Monsters in your mind” at Fura Gallery (Aichi, Japan)
2008 “Hell Heaven” at Spinner Gallery (Kyoto, Japan)
2005 “For The World” at Stussy Sf Gallery (San Francisco, USA)
2005 “Life” at Kid Robot SF Gallery (San Francisco, USA)
Group Exhibition
2021 “Mona Lisa” at Safe and Sound Gallery (Vermont, USA)
2021 “Pop & Street” at Iwataya (Tokyo, Japan)
2021 “Pop & Street: An Annual” at Wag Gallery and SeibuShibuya Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2020 “Wet Paint” at Creative Park 1, The Cool Docks (Shanghai, China)
2020 “Pop & Street: An Annual” at Wag Gallery and SeibuShibuya Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2019 “A Lucky Cat” at Sid Lee Gallery (Paris, France)
2019 “Duo Exhibition” with Rutsu Miki at Masayoshi Suzuki Gallery (Aichi, Japan)
2019 “Pop & Street: An Annual” at Wag Gallery and SeibuShibuya Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2019 “Wet Paint” at Basement Ginza (Tokyo, Japan)
2018 “Bonkers” at Wag Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2018 “Pop & Street: An Annual” at Wag Gallery and SeibuShibuya Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2017 “Pop & Street: An Annual” at Wag Gallery and SeibuShibuya Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2016 “Pop & Street: An Annual” at Wag Gallery and SeibuShibuya Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2016 “81bastards” at Giant Robot Gallery (Los Angeles, USA)
2015 “Daruma” at Pinebrooklyn Gallery (Osaka, Japan)
2015 “Ema” at Hellion Gallery (Portland, USA)
2014 “Beast From a Foreign Land” at hpgrp Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2008 “Bike N’ Shit” bicycle art exhibition at FUTURA STORE (Fukuoka, Japan)
2008 “Juxtapoz Magazine 10th anniversary show” (San Francisco, USA)
2004 “Superstar” adidas art group exhibition at adidas harputs (San Francisco, USA)
Mural Project
2021 “Pow!Wow!Japan” Mural Festival (Wakayama, Japan)
2021 “Pretty Solid Skate School” (Yokohama, Japan)
2020 “C-Holic” (Aichi, Japan)
2020 “Dotonbori” (Osaka, Japan)
2019 “Store in Factory” (Nagoya, Japan)
2018 “万象天地 shopping mall” (Shenzhen, China)
2018 “Minato Aquls” at HLNA Zone (Nagoya, Japan)
2018 “Maehara Taigan” (Chiba, Japan)
2017 “Forest For The Trees” Mural Festival (Portland, USA)
2016 “Forest For The Trees” Mural Festival (Portland, USA)
2016 “Osaka Expo City” at HLNA Zone (Osaka, Japan)
2015 “Tokyo Dex” (Tokyo, Japan)
2014 “Mural Festival as 81 bastards” at Backwoods Gallery (Melbourne, Australia)
2014 “Bction” Mural Festival (Tokyo, Japan)
2011 “Yahoo!Usa Wall” at Cannes Lions (Cannes, France)
Collaboration & Clients
Stussy, Kidrobot, Timbuk2, Beams, Yahoo!Usa, Cisco Systems Usa, Eastpak, Puma, Vans, Levi’s, Alexander Lee Chang, Nike, 55dsl, Kangol, Gravis, Starbucks, Jansports, Adidas, Roark, Single O, Frank Dandy, Yonex Snowboarding, W-Base, Journal Standard, Lacoste, Guess, Dc Shoes, Swatch, Gigantic Brewery, Manu Coffee, New Balance.
