Category: Articles

Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree at the Park Avenue Armory A Peaceful Grove Celebrating Hope and Legacy By Kyoko Sato March 3, 2025 In celebration of Yoko Ono‘s 92nd birthday, the iconic Wish Tree installation was showcased at the historic Park Avenue Armory  in the Upper East Side of Manhattan from February 14-17, 2025. This iteration,…

Francis and Tom Haar: Documenting Japanese Artists Across two generations, Francis and Tom have been deeply connected with Japan, vividly documenting its culture and artists. By Kyoko Sato February 20, 2025 Tom Haar (b. 1941, Tokyo) is renowned for his photographic portraits in his photo essay titled “Japanese Artists New York – 1971”, which features…

Shozo Shimamoto in the Postal Art Network Japanese contribution to the Mail Art Global Avant-Garde movement By Kyoko Sato January 23, 2025 Mark Bloch (b. 1956) began his postal art network in 1978, calling it PAN (Postal Art Network), after studying traditional art forms, and then, performance, and video art with the American visual artist,…

Kimono as Canvas From digital drafting to handcrafted silk: Mohamed Yakub evolves the kimono while staying true to its essence. By Jake Price January 13, 2024 Mohamed Yakub is a Kenyan born American who has been a practicing architect for thirty-six years. He has worked on high rise building projects internationally as well as in…

The Year in Pictures This year, we were fortunate to profile remarkably vibrant artists who, through their art, brought so much to our lives. Yet, the year began with disaster. On New Year’s Day, we woke to the news of vast destruction caused by an earthquake and tsunami on the remote Noto Peninsula, where artisans…

Sponsored | Saori Kanda on exhibiting Art Basel in Maimi, her philosophy of Self Love and shinto rituals. Saori opens up about a transformative year, how self love is not selfish and how she incorporates nature that’s embodied in shinto tradition into her art. By Japan Contemporaries, November 29, 2024 Saori Kanda, a “Dancing Painter”…

Update From Wajima Just as Japan’s Noto Peninsula began recovering from a New Year’s earthquake and tsunami, catastrophic floods now threaten its centuries-old lacquerware industry. Can it survive? By Jake Price Photos & reporting by Shuto Isobe November 13, 2024 As previously reported in Japan Contemporaries, the town of Wajima in Noto Prefecture suffered extensive…

The artist discusses his first solo show in New York, how leaving his desk job was the best decision he ever made, and how art can transcend borders and bring people together.

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…

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.