Encounters with the “Toshioka Collection,” the essence of contemporary art, and the “Oita Asian Sculpture Exhibition,” a serious competition between the young sculptors of Asia.

In the latter half of the 1980s, Mr. Toshioka Nobuo, who was engaged in research and development work at a pharmaceutical company, developed an interest in folk art from South America and Oceania. His interests moved to contemporary art, and he visited galleries in many regions. He began to actively put together a diverse collection that contains the works of both established and young artists from home and abroad.
Oita Prefecture received Mr. Toshioka’s collection as a donation in 2013. The collection is used in various ways.
The Oita Asian Sculpture Exhibition takes place at the Bungo-Ono Fumio Asakura Museum of Sculpture, and was started in 1992 with the purpose of discovering and promoting emerging artists who are breathing new life into the world of Asian sculpture.
Through encountering the Toshioka Collection, which embodies the essence of contemporary art, and the “Oita Asian Sculpture Exhibition,” which serves as the stage of a serious competition between the young sculptors of Asia, we approach the “prismatic today” of these artists who resolutely continue to challenge new expression without adhering to an existing framework.