Category: Articles

Sponsored Dekanta Mono No Aware, Anniversary World Blend 2024 by dekantā —the most international whisky. The renowned artisanal label has enlisted emerging artist Richard Ford III to infuse his creative vision into their exclusive small-batch whisky. In 1859 Thomas Blake Glover (1838-1911), a Scottish merchant, arrived in Nagasaki, Japan, just five years after the country…

As climate change impacts the growth of urushi trees and the number of skilled artisans declines, initiatives are being launched to safeguard this unique cultural heritage while adapting to a rapidly changing world.

Reflecting on a month of artistic contributions of Japanese and Asian artists in New York to foster dialogue and mutual respect.

Hitoshi Fugo: KAMI at Miyako Yoshinaga Gallery  By Jonathan Goodman, May 3, 2024 Now in his late seventies, Hitoshi Fugo is showing a body of work conceived and created some time ago: a suite of eleven black-and-white images, taken from the total of 31 photos that make up his project KAMI, which means paper and…

Kikuo Saito: Color Codes at James Fuentes Gallery By Jonathan Goodman, April 20, 2024 Kikuo Saito(1939-2016) left Tokyo for New York in 1966, at the age of 26. He established himself downtown, only six blocks away from the present home of the Fuentes gallery on White Street, Tribeca, Manhattan, where his work is now on…

Interview with Mira Nakashima We speak with the renowned architect and furniture maker about the transcendent nature of craft, her early years growing up in the Minidoka concentration camp and how questioning authority led to the continued success of Nakashima Woodworkers.

Loft Generation: Painting in New York 1960s-80s, Featuring Naoto Nakagawa at the Eric Firestone Gallery By Jonathan Goodman, April 11, 2024  “Loft Generation,” an excellent show, presents a recent time, when the city’s downtown offered space and freedom to experiment. The exhibition begins at a time when New York was in steep decline and ends…

A Hidden Journey of Friendship: Shigeru Izumi’s New York Paintings, 1959-1962 By Kyoko Sato, February 19, 2024 The exhibition “Entrusted: New York Paintings, 1959-1962” unveils the captivating story of Shigeru Izumi (1922-1995), a Japanese artist whose work from his New York period (1959-1962) lay hidden in a friend’s storage for six decades. Now, seven of…

Tadanori Yokoo: All or Nothing at albertz benda By Jonathan Goodman, February 9, 2024 Born in 1936, Tadanori Yokoo is a well-known graphic designer, printmaker, and painter whose current exhibition at albertz benda, “All or Nothing,” offers a glimpse into the Japanese icon’s 60 year long artistic practice. In this small, but well-chosen exhibition of…

“Ruth Asawa Through Line” at the Whitney Museum of American Art By Jonathan Goodman, January 15, 2024 Ruth Asawa (1926-2013), born on a family farm in Southern California, was forced to relocate to detention centers with the rest of the family during the Second World War. After what amounted to imprisonment, Asawa tried to get…