People | WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN? Jun 8, 2019
For artist Jun Arita, home is where the art is
by Annette Pacey
Art, says New Zealand-based Jun Arita, is not about the money, it's about making connections and creating something meaningful.
Asia Pacific / Offbeat Jun 17, 2018
Australian artist emerges alive after being buried under road for three days
An Australian performance artist who was buried in a steel container under a busy road for 72 hours as part of a so-called dark arts festival was released from his self-imposed prison Sunday. Mike Parr, a 73-year-old performance artist whose creative endeavors typically explore physical ...
People | 20 QUESTIONS Apr 4, 2018
Artist Rob Judges: A boombox of creativity
by Mio Yamada
Inspired by retro vibes, hip-hop, street slang and graffiti, artist Rob Judges says be unique and don't succumb to all the new tech of today.
World Sep 7, 2015
Artist's death at 92 leaves Hamtramck 'Disneyland' future uncertain, in legal limbo
Brightly painted ceiling fans and rocking horses, a kid-sized jet and helicopter, plastic Santas and the rest of a whimsical array attached to two small backyard garages attract visitors from thousands of miles away to the folk art known as "Hamtramck's Disneyland." But since the ...
National Feb 13, 2015
Tomie Ohtake, the celebrated Japanese-Brazilian artist known for her bold, primary colored abstract paintings and gravity-defying monumental sculptures, has died, the institute bearing her name said. She was 101. In a statement, the Tomie Ohtake Institute said the artist died Thursday at a Sao Paulo ...
National Nov 28, 2013
Spanish artist's show inspired by Fukushima sounds
by Chitose Nakagawa
Jose Maria Sicilia, an eminent Spanish modern artist, is holding an exhibition in Fukushima of works inspired by the sounds produced by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters. In an interview in Tokyo, Sicilia, 59, said he wanted to give form to victims' feelings ...
National Oct 23, 2013
Art, with the stroke of a heated pen
by Hisashi Sasaki
As an artist working in the medium of pyrography, Soji Hamada must execute every stroke of his heated pen with precision as he burns images of birds and animals into wood. Pyrography does not permit "another try once you make a mistake in drawing an ...
National Oct 21, 2013
Headdress artist aims for long-lasting laughs
by Komaki Niregane
Chappy Okamoto, 46, claims to be the only artist in the world who can make what he calls "kaburimono" — a mask or headdress. The item is made of a single sheet of paper or urethane and instantly becomes a mask or headdress once it ...
National Sep 30, 2013
Art restorer uses science to resurrect paintings
by Shinichi Tokuda
For more than 40 years, Emile Yoshimura has brought more than 10,000 old damaged paintings back to life, including some by eminent artists dating back 200 to 300 years. Most of the paintings he deals with are oil paintings on canvas, which can crack if ...
Our Lives Jun 29, 2013
Multimedia artist finds community in Odawara nurtures her creativity
by Louise George Kittaka
Sunlight streams in through large windows that look out on a sweeping Pacific Ocean vista. Artworks stand waiting in various stages of creation, while mobiles twist and dance in the sea breeze. This space, known as Atelier Hayakawa, is where Canadian multimedia artist Kirsten ...
Art Feb 7, 2013
Tadasu Takamine's not so 'Cool Japan'
by James Jack
In May 2011, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry promoted the idea of "Cool Japan," presenting Japanese culture as a product amid the confusing circumstances after the Great East Japan Earthquake. As Japan continues to suffer a declining population and weak economy, it ...
Art Feb 7, 2013
by C.B. Liddell
If art is something that you want to feel comfortable with in your home, then Haroon Mirza is probably not your man. As the winner of the 2012 Daiwa Foundation Art Prize, British-born, ethnic-Pakistani artist Mirza is being introduced to Tokyo's art connoisseurs with ...