#Japan

Artist Stories

Kiyohara Yukinobu: Sublime Female Painter of the Kano School

Not many of us have heard of Kiyohara Yukinobu, but we probably should have. She was a Japanese painter in the early Edo period (1603–1868) and one...

Candy Bedworth 13 March 2024

Contemporary Art

Superfab, Superflat! The Most Renowned Works by Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese artist best known for his collaborations with multiple fashion brands and famous singers. You may know him from his 2019 collab with Billie Eilish, for the music video of You Should See Me in a Crown. His creativity is informed by traditional Japanese arts and modern Japanese pop culture. His artworks appeal both to the masses as well as collectors of fine art.

Rucha Vijay Bodas 12 March 2024

Women Artists

Yayoi Kusama and Her World of Polka Dots

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist and writer, born in 1929. Well-known for her repeating dot patterns, her art encompasses an astonishing variety of...

Zuzanna Stańska 12 March 2024

Henri Matisse, The gulf of Sint-Tropez, 1904, Kunstsammlung Nordhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany Art Travels

Top 5 Artsy Travel Destinations in 2024 Through Paintings

We suggest you a selection of the best tourist destinations and festivals by the hand of great artists!

Andra Patricia Ritisan 11 March 2024

Ishikawa Toyonobu, Tomoe Gozen Killing Uchida Saburo Ieyoshi at the Battle of Awazu no Hara, ca. 1750, woodblock print, ink and color on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Asian Art

Onna-Musha: The Female Samurai Warriors

Feudal Japan experienced many social upheavals and turbulences. This highlighted the need to be combat-ready for everyone, including women. Hence,...

Errika Gerakiti 8 March 2024

Hokusai Great Wave, Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, ca. 1830-1832, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Asian Art

Hokusai’s Great Wave Explained

You might not know the title of Hokusai’s print, but Under the Wave off Kanagawa is almost instantly recognizable. His Great Wave reveals...

Marina Kochetkova 26 February 2024

Women Artists

Documenting the Internment Experience: Miné Okubo and Citizen 13660

Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, thousands of Japanese Americans were forcibly placed in concentration camps. Artist Miné Okubo was in two of...

Lauren Kraut 26 February 2024

Cats

Maneki Neko – Those Lucky Cats

We’ve all seen those jovial, happy cat figurines in Asian restaurants and shops. Sitting upright with their raised paw, smiling face, and trademark...

Nadine Waldmann 17 February 2024

Asian Art

Dragons in East Asian Art

Imagination is the only limit to the stories and myths about dragons. From East to West, storytellers paint them as creatures of fire, of deep...

Yifan Xia 15 February 2024

Bizarre

Miyatake Gaikotsu and His Puzzling Postcards

At the beginning of the 20th century, when Japan started embracing the West and rapid industrialization of almost all aspects of life, Miyatake...

Magda Michalska 7 February 2024

Artist Stories

Lee Ufan – The Beauty of Emptiness

Lee Ufan is a Korean-born international artist, whose work is key to the Mono-ha movement. If you have ever been lucky enough to encounter a Lee...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 13 January 2024

Hiroshige, Kinryuzan Temple, Asakusa (Asakusa Kinryuzan), No. 99 from One Hundred Famous View of Edo, 1856, Brooklyn Museum of Arts, New York, NY, USA. Detail. Asian Art

Hiroshige’s Winter Views of Edo

One of the most famous woodblock printers of the late Edo period in Japan, Utagawa Hiroshige, produced a series of a hundred views showing Edo city...

Magda Michalska 22 December 2023