Born in Isesaki, Japan, to a family who ran a weaving factory, Shin began his artistic path as a textile designer. After a working as a freelance illustrator, Shin moved to Australia where he established a printmaking gallery in Sydney. Before emigrating, he won numerous awards in Japan such as the Japan Printmakers Grand Prix and the KFS Art Contest Grand Prix.

Shin’s work features in the collections of the Sanbao International Ceramic Art Institute (Jingdezhen, China), the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia), as well as numerous private collections.

He expanded his international activity by establishing a ceramics studio in 2013 at Jingdezhen, China. Shin also maintains studios in Arita (Saga Prefecture, Japan) since 2014 and on the outskirts of Chiangmai (Thailand) since 2018. Shin collaborates with artists in these regions to design and produce his works.

He expanded his international activities by establishing a ceramics studio in Jingdezhen, China, in 2013. In 2014, he set up another studio in Arita, Saga Prefecture, which is now his base studio. In 2018, he also founded the studio Maha Charm Learn in the suburbs of Chiang Mai, Thailand, where his works are designed, produced, and curated in collaboration with local artists.

Shin’s unique oeuvre includes contemporary arrangements of traditional Japanese patterns and Ukiyo-e, detailed depictions of figures based on his own memories, as well as idiosyncratic handmade ceramic objects (dolls) with exaggerated forms. All Shin’s work expresses his inspiration earned through rich experience, along with his ceaseless imagination and passion.

Photo credits: Yuka Nagamatsu