Shohei Katayama is a Japanese American artist who explores the space between light and dark, life and death, beauty and danger, nature and man. His work includes line drawings, sculpture, and installation art. Utilizing his art as a catalyst for environmental conversations, his work examines the underlying patterns and forces of nature by showcasing unseen relationships in ecology. Katayama uses materials that embodies the philosophy associated with ecological examination. Through his work, Katayama demonstrates the entanglements that are present between such systems and illustrates the disruptions that can occur when individual components are manipulated.

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Katayama received a B.A. in Studio Art from Bellarmine University (2010), undertook additional training in glass blowing with Ché Rhodes at the University of Louisville, and his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019. He is the inaugural recipient of the MTV: REDEFINE award, received the Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award by the International Sculpture Center, the Frank-Ratchye Fund for the Art at the Frontier Award, among others. His work has been exhibited nationally, and internationally at the Palazzo Mora in Venice, Italy; Plaxall Gallery in Long Island City, New York; Littman Gallery in Portland, OR, and more. Katayama has participated in the Facebook Artist-in-Residence Program; the Arctic Circle Residency in Svalbard, Norway; the Labverde Amazon Residency in Manaus, Brazil; the International Sculpture Center Residency at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton Township, NJ; Tough Art Residency Program in Pittsburgh, PA, and at the Asia Institute Crane House in Louisville, KY.

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