SAYA MORIYASU

permanent collections:

Meta Open Arts

ArtsWA - Capitol Childcare Center (Olympia)

Seattle Art Museum

Tacoma Art Museum 

Henry Art Gallery

Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience 

Asian Counseling and Referral Services

City of Seattle Portable Works Collection

Whatcom Museum (Bellingham) 

Western Gallery, Western Washington University (Bellingham) 

NW Museum of Arts and Culture (Spokane)

Museum of Art, Washington State University (Pullman)

Safeco (Liberty) Art Collection

Kent Arts Commission

(all in the State of Washington, Seattle unless noted)

Solo Exhibitions

2024 Ozekitachi 尾石達- Stone Tails, J. Rinehart Gallery, Seattle, Washington, March 2 - 27, 2024

2021 spooky actions at a distance, J. Rinehart Gallery, Seattle, Washington, May 2021 - June 2021

2019 Quiet, G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle, Washington, March - April 2019

2019 Lotus Islands, 13’ x 54’ installation, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, WA  January - March 2019

2016 Monkey Way, 32’ window installation at 505 Union Station Building, Seattle, WA  April - October 2016

2015 Islands, SeaTac Airport, April - August 2015

2015 Parlor, G. Gibson Gallery, April - June 2015

2012 Folly, G. Gibson Gallery, March 1 - April 24, 2012

2012 Verdant, SOIL Gallery, July 2012

2011 Folly (Vizcaya), fountain installation, Aqua Art Miami, Florida, December 2011

2008 Floating Worlds, Aqua Art Miami, Miami, Florida, project space, December 2008

Oriental / Occidental, new ceramic work, SOIL Gallery, September 2008

2007 Waiting Ladies, Indie Collective Gallery, Culver City, Los Angeles, October 2007

Audience, JEMA (John Erickson Museum of Art), Deitch Art Parade, New York City, JEMA is a location variable museum, www.jema.us, September 2007

2006 Audience, JEMA (John Erickson Museum of Art),  Miami, Florida, the location variable museum traveled Art Basel and surrounding art fairs, December 2006

Floating Worlds, Gallery4Culture, Seattle, Washington, October 2006

2005 New Edition Work, monoprints, sumi and watercolor, Richard Hugo House, Seattle, Washington, October - November 2005

Lamplight Lavish Gathering, Platform Gallery, Seattle, Washington, March 31 – May 7. 2005.

2002 Service, Esther Claypool Gallery window display, Seattle, Washington

Lava 2002, (room installation titled Service within a group show) organized by Yuki Nakamura, Claude Zervas, and Jennifer West, Noodleworks, Seattle, Washington

Commission Work

2022 ArtsWA - Washington State Arts Commission - Central Washington University outdoor sculpture commission, proposal stage

Operculum,  Meta Reality Labs, 10.5’ x 39.5’ x 4”, oil, acrylic on wood, ceramic, and wallpaper for Meta Open Arts

2018 Yesler Terrace LLC’s Batik Apartment building, Maya, bronze, 134” x 43” x 47”  

2017  AC Hotel Bellevue, Washington, Portraits of Ladies and Man Servers, 35 portraits on porcelain, 3 porcelain sculptures, glaze, underglaze, and ribbon, 8’ x 20’ x 4”

2014 MadCampus (MadArt Seattle and University of Washington) project, Hortus Curiosus, a collaborative project with Maki Tamura, September - October 2014, approximately 10’ x 20’ x 20’.  A temporary outdoor concrete and fabric work that the public could sit on and enjoy the medicinal herb garden.

2014 Mr. Tako, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, donation box sculpture, Seattle, Washington

2008 Sweet Hello, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, permanent commission Seattle, Washington.  Commissioned work for entry to the museum

2003-2004 Peeks, excerpts from my book Street Peeks, 17 pages on 5' x 5' vinyl panels, Sound Transit's Beacon Hill Station site, Seattle Washington

Collaborative Projects

2022 Beauty of US, poster project responding to xenophobia towards AANHPI Community (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander) with positive messages to combat xenophobia . Leads on the project: Juliana Kang Robinson and Erin Shigaki. Commissioned 7 AANHPI women, printed 5250 posters, and 14 outdoor banners displayed and distributed for free around King County and beyond.

2019 Quail Parade, Soap Lake, Washington, Quail performance in the Centennial Parade 

2014 MadCampus (MadArt Seattle and University of Washington) project, Hortus Curiosus, a collaborative project with Maki Tamura, September - October 2014.  A temporary outdoor concrete and fabric work that the public could sit on and enjoy the medicinal herb garden.

2011 ACT Theatre window project, with Nicholas Nyland and Maki Tamura, February 2011

2010 Henry Gift Store Project, Champagne Truffles, with Jennifer Campbell, Nicholas Nyland, Maki Tamura, and Ian Toms, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington, March – April 2010

2006 Hardline Organics, a tale of absurd optimism, SOIL Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington, January 2006 and June 2006 (two-part exhibition)

1998 Not Quite the 11th Floor, King County Arts Commission Gallery, with Nora Mukaihata and Craig Miller  

1998 Well Being and Other Disorders, a seven-person collaborative installation, first at Ilk on Santa Fe in Denver, Colorado and another incarnation at SOIL in Seattle, Washington

Awards/Grant Projects

2022 Beauty of US Poster Project, 4Culture Project Grant

2016 Museum of Northwest Art, Alfredo Arreguin Award for Mid-Career Artists Award

2013 Artist Trust Fellowship Award

2012 Artist Trust Gap Grant, Museum of Northwest Art, new work for Tulipiere show

2010 Hauberg Fellowship for Pilchuck residency

2008 4Culture Individual Project Grant for an exhibit at SOIL Gallery

2006 4Culture Special Projects Grant and Artist Trust Gap Grant, to produce work for Floating Worlds exhibition at Gallery 4Culture

2004 City Artist, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, City Artist Program, City of Seattle - to produce work for Platform Gallery show in 2005

2003 Street Peeks, North Beacon Hill Walking Tour, a book, King County Special Project Grant.  This is a design book documenting the architecture and gardens of the diverse community of Beacon Hill, Seattle.   Available for checkout at the King County and Seattle Public Libraries.

2003 GAP Grant, from Artist Trust, New Work by Saya Moriyasu, presented at the Seattle Center's NWCC Gallery.  New work for the group show titled, Innocence and Jest.  

1993 Skowhegan Fellowship to attend Skowhegan a nine-week intensive residency for emerging artists

Education and Residency Programs

2010 Hauberg Fellowship / Residency, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington

2009 Pratt/Pilchuck scholarship to take Maria Porges and Stephen Paul Day’s class at Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington

2001 Centrum's Creative Residencies, Port Townsend, Washington, Poncho stipend

1993 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine, faculty included Ann Hamilton, Kiki Smith, Alison Saar, and David Ireland, Fellowship Award 

1991 Bachelor of Fine Art, Ceramic Sculpture, University of Washington, faculty included Akio Takamori and Patti Warashina, and Bachelor of Art, General Art, University of Washington

Teaching and other relevant experience

2021 - present Volunteer, web designer/content creator for Soap Lake Conservancy. 

2019 - 2020 Volunteer, The Last 6,000, surveying Seattle’s majestic trees 

2014 Teacher, Gallery One after-school ceramic classes during Artist in Residence, Ellensburg, Washington 2009  

Teacher, Teens Way at Wing Luke Asian Museum, introduction to mural painting, sculpture, and installation art in a series of classes. 

2002 Author/Designer, Saya Moriyasu, artist catalog 

1995 - present Panelist, Artist Trust, 4Culture, Office of Arts and Culture, SOIL, reading and evaluating applications, working to come to a consensus with other panelists regarding grant, commission, or exhibition recipients. 

1997 – 1999 & Member, SOIL Art Run Gallery, public presentations, facilitating meetings, coordinating 2006 – 2012 volunteers, writing press releases, art handling, auction co-chair, art fairs, and interacting with the public 

2006 – 2008 Coordinator for the Arts Participant Initiative, contract position for ArtsWA - Washington State Arts Commission. Site visits, coordinating bi-annual training for grantees, writing articles for an online learning community, photos for publication and website, website design/upkeep, and frequent use of Microsoft Excel to track information. 

2000 – 2004 Writer, International Examiner, (a Seattle periodical) wrote book reviews and interviews with authors 

1999 – 2000 Gallery Coordinator, Gallery4Culture exhibit artwork, wrote press releases, public relations, handling and hung artwork 

2000 – 2004 Volunteer, Island Crest Elementary, grading homework, helping with homework, teaching children to read, assisting with art projects 

Selected Bibliography

ArtZone with Nancy Guppy, artist feature video by Vincent Pierce, Seattle Channel aired May 2021

Saya Moriyasu at J.Rinehart Gallery, Jasmyne Keimig, The Stranger, December 13, 2019

MadArt, MadCampus related articles see www.madartseattle.com

SOIL, Maria Porges artist profile essay, SOIL Publications, 2011, pages 30-31.

Fixed Chaos, Shana Dumont, catalog for the exhibition, Montserrat College of Art, 2010.

Pretty Functional, Katie Kurtz, Craft: transforming the traditional craft, Volume 5, 2007, page 19.

Deitch Art Parade, the publication included Audience, JEMA exhibition 2007.

SOIL: 2006, Katie Kurtz essay, SOIL Publications, 2006, pages 35-36.

SOIL: Artist-Run Gallery 1995-2005, Jill Connor, SOIL Publications, 2005, pages 76-77.

Bright Lights, Saya Moriyasu's Conversation Pieces, Katie Kurtz, The Stranger, April 21, 2005, page 49.

Lamplight Lavish Gathering, Saya Moriyasu at Platform Gallery, Molly Norris, Art Access, Volume 14, April 2005, Number 3, page 11.

You are what you buy: A bright take on consumerism, Judy Wagonfeld, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 29, 2005, page 22.

Saya Moriyasu, Platform Gallery Exhibition, Etsuko Ichikawa, Youmaga.com, April 2005 (on-line and in print)

Lava 2002, Essays by Rhonda Howard, Design by Rebecca Richards, Artist Entry by Anna Fahey, in conjunction with Lava exhibition organized by Yuki Nakamura, Jennifer West, and Claude Zervas.

International Examiner, voted Most Intriguing Young Asian-American Artist, August-September 1998.