Manabu Kochi was born in Okinawa, Japan in 1954. He studied at the Tokyo Zokei Art University, the Musashino Art University in Tokyo and further pursued his studies in Florence, Italy (1979-1981) at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze. Shaping his style in Tokyo, Florence and London, Kochi lives and works in Paris, France since 1981 in a close link with the Claude Lemand Gallery.

Since his first solo exhibition in 1989, Kochi’s work has been exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions. His work was selected by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) to be the 1996 Official Grammy® Artist and the official Artist for the MusiCares® for the 1996 New York ArtExpo. Since 2014, Kochi’s work is exhibited at the Art Paris Art Fair, within the prestigious halls of the Grand Palais, under the Claude Lemand Gallery.















Collections

Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France.
Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF), Cabinet des Estampes, Paris, France.
Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, France
Novotel contemporary art collection, France.
Musée de plain air, Golf de l’Amirauté, Deauville, France.
Benoît-de-Puydt museum, Bailleul, France.
Musée de l’Hospice Saint-Roch Issoudun, France.
Collection Claude et France Lemand, France.
Naha Cultural Arts Theater NAHArt, Japan.
Oita city museum, Japan.
Okinawa Contemporary Art museum, Japan.
Art Okinawa University Library, Japan.
Sakima Art museum, Japan.
EM, Okinawa, Japan.
Palm Royal Hotel, Japan.
Palm Hills Resort, Okinawa, Japan.
Star Art Foundation, USA. 
National Academy of Recording Art & Sciences, Inc , USA.
Politeo collection, Croatia.
Fundación Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo, Marbella, Spain.




Art Critic

“Working in the fields of sculp­ture, painting and engraving, Kochi has suc­ceeded in cre­ating a per­sonal link between Primitive Arts and the most inno­va­tive move­ments in European Modern Art. His works are full of phi­los­ophy, humour, colour and har­mony.” Claude Lemand

“The way Manabu Kochi forms shapes in his painting can be basically defined as “metamorphic”. For instance, a human figure turns itself into an animal or plant figure, the other way around, sometimes a combination of both. He transforms existing, concrete figures into freely open forms. His painting is based on ancient and modern transformation myths, which reflect the way shapes in our lived reality must endlessly transform. It is the “light” that enables this eternal metamorphosis. Light, like the maternal oceanic, gives life varied forms and allow them to live within its realm. While these forms, in the richness of light, continue to metamorphose forever…” Hideo Yamamoto

“Loin des doutes désenchantés formulés par les plasticiens de la post-modernité, l’oeuvre de Manabu Kochi s’affirme comme une profession de foi toujours spontanée et renouvelée. Quête audacieuse de ‘l’énergie fondamentale’, son univers original réveille le paysage artistique contemporain. Kochi est un artiste du Printemps. Manifestes pour l’Espérance, ses motifs dessinés et ses volumes modelés évoquent les naissances : les pépins, les germes, les boutons, les premiers stades de l’évolution.
Kochi trace des plans et combine des modules. Il installe également des réseaux graphiques, des cheminements et des rayonnements, des serpentements et des images-spirales. Croix, tresses, escaliers et poils frisés donnent du ressort à l’espace et symbolisent des constellations. Aquatique et cosmique, ce monde parle de souplesse et de silence. Autour de l’île d’Okinawa, faune et flore à cils, tentacules et antennes se balançaient doucement dans la Mer de Chine Orientale. Du côté du ciel, l’apesanteur qui séduisit Max Ernst touche également Kochi : le jeu des proportions rompues, l’absence de ligne d’horizon et le déséquilibre de la géométrie euclidienne, le pied de nez à la perspective classique occidentale, provoquent un doux vertige. Lorsqu’on naît insulaire, la liberté passe par l’eau et par l’air.” Françoise Monnin





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