Voices in Moving Image: Kota Ezawa

The Fine Arts Lecture Series is a cornerstone of CCA's vibrant campus culture, providing an exceptional platform for students to engage with eminent artists from around the world. This dynamic immersive series offers an unparalleled opportunity for students to witness the creative process, gain insights into diverse artistic perspectives, and interact with established professionals.

Through these inspiring interactions, students are not only exposed to cutting-edge techniques and innovative concepts but also encouraged to think critically, question norms, and broaden their artistic horizons. The series fosters an environment of intellectual curiosity, cultural enrichment, and creative growth, empowering students to evolve as both skilled artists and well-rounded individuals poised for success in the competitive world of contemporary art.

Kota Ezawa (b. 1969 Cologne, Germany) is best known for his light-boxes, works on paper and animations that make use of found images, video, and film to comment on contemporary culture, appropriation, and historical events. Described by the artist himself as “moving paintings,” Ezawa’s works serve as conduits of events for both history and pop culture, translating them into personal memories and experiences. His works have the ability to transcend the specificity of the image into a more universal realm by reducing the forms and content to their most basic elements.

Kota Ezawa’s work has been showcased in solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, CA; SITE Santa Fe, NM; Mead Art Museum, Amherst, MA; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada; and St. Louis Art Museum, MO; and group exhibitions at Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; and Art Institute of Chicago, IL; among many others. He participated in the Whitney Biennial 2019 and the Shanghai Biennale 2004. Ezawa received a SECA Art Award from SFMOMA in 2006 and a Eureka Fellowship in 2010. His work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Art Institute of Chicago, IL; Musée D’Art Contemporain de Montréal, Canada; and Baltimore Museum of Art, MD and many others.

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