Shigeo Otake (b. 1955, Kobe, Japan) lives and works in Kobe. He received a BFA and MFA from Kyoto City University of Arts between 1974 and 1981, where he honed his skills in oil and mural painting under the guidance of Koji Yamazoe. Deeply influenced by the early Italian Renaissance, Otake spent two formative years traveling across Europe, an experience that has profoundly shaped his artistic vision. Otake’s work is a unique blend of traditional and contemporary influences, with a fascination for hybrid creatures and the mysterious world of Cordyceps fungi. Solo exhibitions include White Cube, Hong Kong (2026); Consortium Museum, Dijon and Venice (2026); American Art Catalogues, New York (2025); Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai (2025); ADZ Gallery, Lisbon (2024); and Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing (2023), among others. His work has been included in group exhibitions at Shibunkaku, Tokyo (2026); He Art Museum, Foshan (2025); Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing (2025); Frieze No. 9 Cork Street, London (2025); and Gladstone, New York (2024), among others.
American Art Catalogues published A Dim Cozy Room in 2024, the first major monograph dedicated to Otake’s work.
