Emi Ozawa

Emi Ozawa was born in 1962 in Tokyo, Japan.^[3] Her father was an accountant and her mother was a stay-at-home mother; they encouraged her at a young age to pursue art.^[3]

Ozawa attended Joshibi University of Art and Design, followed by study in 1985 at the Tokyo University of the Arts.^[3] After two years she transferred as an exchange student to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia to study woodworking.^[3] She later earned an MFA degree in furniture design from the Rhode Island School of Design. She had studied furniture design under Michael Hurwitz [Wikidata], Alphonse Mattia and Rosanne Somerson.^[3]

Ozawa creates painted wood wall sculptures that optically shift when viewed from different perspectives.^[4] These wall paintings are constructed from many pieces of wood that are screwed together to construct a multi-dimensional surface.^[5] Color is strategically arranged to create compositions that shift when viewed from different perspectives.^[6] Her sophisticated surface application and meticulous design reveal an emphasis on craftsmanship.^[7] Her work is associated with constructivism and minimalism.