Born 1911 in Tokyo, Horiuchi was enrolled at the Sculpture Department of Tokyo School of Arts and Crafts (now Chiba University). He then learned at the Art School run by the Nika Association. Horiuchi later became a full member of the Nika Association in 1947, and held his membership status until 1966. While he became active as a sculptor in the prewar era, Horiuchi felt alienated from then-current trends in his field, which led him to work isolated for extended periods of time. Awards include the 6th Kotaro Takamura Prize in 1963, the Grand Prix of the 1st International Exhibition

of Modern Sculpture (now Hakone Open Air Museum of Sculpture), and the Award of the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art at the 2nd Exhibition of Modern Sculpture at Suma Rikyu (Kobe). As a pioneer of modern sculpture in Japan, Horiuchi’s works rely on a geometric sense of shape and an intellectual but at the same time humorous approach to the structure of space. These qualities have garnered Horiuchi praise not only in Japan, but also on the international stage. He died in 2001. A well-received retrospective was later held at the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art.