Ataru Kozuru was born in Fukuoka, Japan and was raised in Boston, U.S.A.  Now looking back, his interest in ancient cultures grew from seeing his father's archeological digs/discoveries and research of ancient ceramic kiln sites in Northern Kyushu,Japan. Trips to natural and ancient cultural sites in American continents sparked an interest in stone sculpture in relation to space and architecture. To pursue stone sculpture further, he spent time stone carving in Italy and France and obtained deeper understanding of European stone culture. After graduating college, he went back to live in Provence, France to absorb and pursue art in a new environment.  He has also elicited inspiration from his own culture particularly in Zen gardens. In combining incised drawings on stone sculpture, he began creating two dimensional mono painting prints off the stone and on to canvas painting.  Since then, Ataru has been dividing time between the U.S. and Japan. He has shown in Japan, Europe, and the United States.

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EDUCATION

• School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts.
• Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.
• Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1992 . Diploma in Sculpture, 1990.
• The Lacoste School of the Arts in France - Lacoste, France Fine Arts program, Fall 1989.
• School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Carrara, Italy - Stone carving program, Summer 1989.
• School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghost Rhanch, New Mexico, Photography, Summer 1987.

EXPERIENCE

• Marblehead Festival of Arts, Marblehead, MA - Served as juror for a sculpture exhibition, June, 1999.
• Yasuo Mizui/Sculptor in Public Art, France and Japan - Assisted in carving & installing monumental sculptures. 1992-1993 and 1996.
• The Lacoste School of the Arts, Lacoste, France - Acted as Assistant professor in stone carving, clay, and plaster modeling. 1992-1993.
• Tufts University, Medford, MA - Acted as research assistant in the organization of an architecture course. Summer 1991

EXHIBITIONS: Solo

• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION, Iwasadou Gallery, Kamakura City, Japan, May, 2007
• "GALAXY" - ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Daisen Gallery, Fukuoka City, Japan, May, 2006
• "CONSTELLATION" - ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Daisen Gallery, Fukuoka City, Japan, June, 2004
• "SPACE" - ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Iwataya Gallery. Fukuoka City, Japan. August, 2002

EXHIBITIONS: Group

• INVITATIONAL SCULPTURE EXHIBIT 2007, The Mill Brook Gallery and the Sculpture Garden, Concord, NH, June~Oct, 2007
• COMMON GROUND EXHIBITION, Westchester Community College Fine Arts Gallery, Valhalla, NY, October~November, 2007
• SMALL MONUMENTS SMALL SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Gallery Peter Schijren, St. Geertruid, The Netherlands, April-June. 2006
• FLOWER PICNIC / OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, Fukuoka, Japan, March-May, 2006
• SWIMMING POOL: Online Global Art Exhibition: ctrl28.com, London, England, Feb, 2006.
• SMALL MONUMENTS INTERNATIONAL SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Galerie MK21, Hamburg, Germany, Feb-March, 2006.
• SMALL MONUMENTS / INTERNATIONAL STONE EXHIBITION: Gallery Exelmans, Neeroeteren: Belgium, Oct-Dec. 2005.
• SMALL MONUMENTS / INTERNATIONAL STONE EXHIBITION: Gallery Donkersvoort, Beek &Donk: The Netherlands, Sept-Oct. 2005.
• 7th ANNUAL 2005 OUTDOOR INVITATIONAL SCULPTURE EXHIBIT: Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden. Concord, N.H. June-October,2005.
• TOUCHSTONES: SCULPTURE PARTICIPATING WITH PLACE: Hawk Ridge Farm, Pawnal, ME. June-July, 2005.
• ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL AND MILL BROOK GALLERY INVITATIONAL SCULPTURE SHOW: Hargate Gallery, St. Paul's School. Concord, NH. April-May, 2005.
• 2005 INTERNATIONAL SMALL WORKS EXHIBITION: Red Dot Fine Art. Santa Fe, NM. April, 2005.
• EARTH WORKS NOW, INTERNATIONAL BIENNIAL EXHIBITION: Hi-Desert Nature Museum / Copper Mountain college. Yucca Valley, CA. March~April, 2005.
• CAIR CROFT SCULPTURE GARDEN: (Group Show) Dover, MA. Sept~Nov, 2004.
• EXHIBITION THE KOZURU SIBLING EXHIBITION: Odakyu Gallery. Tokyo, Japan. April, 2003.
• THE KOZURU SIBLING EXHIBITION: Iwasadou Gallery - Kamakura City, Kanagawa, Japan. November, 2002.
• ALUMNI/AE JURIED EXHIBITION: Tufts University Gallery - Medford, Massachusetts. October-December, 2001.
• STONE EXHIBITION S.P.A.: Gallery: Barre, Vermont. October, 2001.
• CONTEMPORARY OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Historic Foresthills cemetery. Boston, Massachusetts, September, 2001-August, 2002.
• 1st ANNUAL OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2001: Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden Concord, New Hampshire. July-October, 2001.
• TRACES OF PROVENCE:ART AFTER LACOSTE: French Institute Alliance Françoise New York City, New York. March-April, 2001.
• NATIONAL SMALL SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: Exhibition Galleries/The Library Hattiesburg, Mississippi. June-July, 2000.
• 58th ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION: Randall L. Jones Theater - Shakespearean Festival. Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah. June-September, 1999.
• SCULPTURE OF THE SPIRIT: Forest Lawn Cemetery - Buffalo, NY. May-October, 1999.
• CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION: Office Environment & Creiger-Dane Gallery - Boston, Massachusetts. 1998-1999.
• MYSTERIES IN STONE: The T.W.Wood Gallery & Arts Center - Montpelier, Vermont. 1998.
• THE NORTH AMERICAN SCULPTURE EXHIBITION: The Foothills Art Center. Golden, Colorado 1998.
• SCULPTURE FOR THE OUTDOORS II: Clark gallery - Lincoln, Massachusetts. 1988.
• ART OF THE SPIRIT: Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, Massachusetts. 1988.
• MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS: Group MUSEUM EXHIBITION THE THREE SIBLING EXHIBITION: Dai, Ataru, Niho Kozuru - Fukuoka City Museum Fukuoka, Japan. May, 1997.
• THE KOZURU SIBLING EXHIBITION: Dai, Ataru, Niho Kozuru - Fukuoka City Museum. Fukuoka, Japan. August, 2000

COLLECTIONS

• Forest Hills Educational Trust, Boston, Massachusetts
• Nohgata Tanio Museum of Art, Nohgata City, Fukuoka-Ken, Japan
• Sawara Museum Ruhe. Fukuoka City, Japan
• Nanotsu Kotobuki Architectural Firm, Fukuoka City, Japan

SITED PROJECTS

• SITED PROJECT "NEW BEGINNING: The Kashakuen crematorium Park, Black & White granite. 5'hx3.5'wx3'd Nakagawa, Fukuoka, Japan. 1994.
• GRANITE STEPPING STONES & WATER BASIN: Private Residence: 4 kinds of granite. 4.5 square feet interior garden Nohgata city, Fukuoka, Japan. 2004.
• 7 FOLDS: Private Residence. Pink granite. 48"x12"x10"(Including base). Nohgata City, Fukuoka, Japan. 2004
• PHOENIX: Private Residence. Two kinds of red granite & white marble. 56"x33"x14" inches. Nohgata city, Fukuoka, Japan. 2004

TEACHING

• NAGOYA INTERNATONAL SCHOOL - Nov. 2006: taught pottery (coil and slab techniques) and a showed stone sculpture slide presentation to 10 - 14 year old students in a 3-day workshop.
• Salem State college, Salem, MA - Conducted a workshop in creating ceramic coil sculpture. February, 2005.

TELEVISION

• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2006 : RKB Local News, RKB-TV, Daisen Gallery, Fukuoka City, Japan, 2006.
• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2004: TNC LOCAL NEWS. TNC-TV, Daisen Gallery, Fukuoka, Japan. June, 2004
• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2004: RKB LOCAL NEWS. RKB-TV, Daisen Gallery, Fukuoka, Japan. June, 2004
• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2002: RKB LOCAL NEWS. RKB-TV, Iwatawa Gallery, Fukuoka , Japan. August, 2002
• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2002: TNC LOCAL NEWS. TNC-TV, Iwataya Gallery, Fukuoka, Japan. August, 2002
• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2002: KBC LOCAL NEWS. KBC-TV, Iwataya Gallery Fukuoka, Japan. August, 2002

PUBLICATIONS

• BEST OF AMERICA: Scupture Artists & Artisans, Volume 1, Kennedy Publishing, Williamsburg, VA, U.S.A, 2007
• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2007, Yomiuri Newspaper, Yokohama, Japan, May, 2007.
• ATARU KOZURU STONE SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2006: The Nishinippon Newspaper, Mainichi Newspaper, Fukuoka, Japan, June, 2006.
• STONE IN AMERICA: "Defining the Stone" Published in Columbus, Ohio. U.S.A. Volume 113. Number 7. July, 2000.
• STONE IN AMERICA: Front Cover, Published in Columbus, Ohio. U.S.A. Volume 112. Number 9. October, 1999 IMS Paper: "The Three Kozuru Siblings" Published in Fukuoka, Japan, Volume No.96. June, 1997

OTHER

• PRIZE Third Place - 1st ANNUAL OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBITION 2001, Millbrook Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Concord, New Hampshire. July-October, 2001