Kenzi Shiokava

The first comprehensive monograph on the Los Angeles–based Nippo Brazilian artist, whose sculptural practice blended traditional woodcarving with found object assemblage.

A second generation Brazilian of Japanese descent, Kenzi Shiokava (1938–2021) moved to Los Angeles when he was 25 and remained there for the rest of his life. Working out of a refurbished auto body shop in Compton, he built towering wooden totem sculptures and found object assemblages that combine traditional woodcarving practices of Asia and the Americas with the contemporary currents of Southern California. Though unclassifiable and therefore commercially unsuccessful, Shiokava's work was nonetheless admired by Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando, and he was finally given his due as the winner of the Made in L.A. 2016's Public Recognition Award. This insightful catalog accompanies the first ever retrospective of Kenzi Shiokava's work and reveals the ways that the artist embraced diverse influences over decades of artmaking in Los Angeles, creating novel connections across nature, spirituality and material culture.

The exhibition is accompanied by the first monograph dedicated to the artist. Designed by IN-FO.CO, this richly illustrated publication features essays by Nolan Jimbo, Naima J. Keith, Aram Moshayedi, and Michiko Okano, which provide an overview of Shiokava’s oeuvre while drawing out key threads, including the archeological impulse at the heart of his work, his longtime friendship with artist John Outterbridge, and his practice’s resonance with religions in Brazil and Japan. The catalogue also includes full-color reproductions of exhibition artworks, including some that have never been photographed or published, as well as a selection of rare materials sourced from the artist’s archives.

Learn more about Kenzi Shiokava, on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago from June 27, 2026 - Jan 31, 2027.