Posts from — January 2009

I’d like to call on my readers for some help. I’m currently writing a book on graphic design in Asia. The inspiration behind the book comes from a strong sense that the current design landscape is overly dominated by the West. So the objective will be to expose all the great, quality work that is being done in Asia, but doesn’t surface to the mainstream.

If you know of any designers, great or small, that you think I should look at, please send them my way. A link, a name, anything! Countries that I’m looking at include, but aren’t limited to, Japan, Korea, China, India…. read on for the complete list!  [Read more →]

The last time I was in Tokyo I picked up this book by ceramicist Taizo Kuroda and was blown away! Kuroda (whose name literally and ironically means black rice paddy) creates porcelain pieces that radiate a certain glow that is only attainable through pure white. It made me want to redecorate my apartment in only white.

The book is quite fascinating. It illustrates the beauty of white (which, if you’ll recall from art fundamentals 101, is the presence of all colors) but also explores themes of perfection and imperfection. Many of the pieces are perfectly symmetrical up until the lip, where the artist destroys the symmetry by subtly collapsing edges.

Aren’t these pieces amazing? Oh how I would love to line them up on my window sill.

He’s represented by the Yoshii Gallery in NY.

It’s my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor today; Akemi, Inc. Based out of Houston, Akemi, Inc. has been in the Japanese art and fabric business for over 20 years. They offer gorgeous silk fabrics, as well as bamboo room dividers known as “Misu.” What’s especially exciting is that they are also a dealer in Japanese contemporary art, mainly offering works by renowned woodcut artist Akira Kurosaki. Visit their website to see all the amazing things they offer!

GRiD is a new line of products that won a recent Good Design Award! And the first to hit stores is the GRiD TAG, a USB device beautifully designed by Takuya Matsuda. I admit it’s quite adorable but I have to wonder; would the stick-like shape kind of get in the way?

For the past 2 years Shiseido has hosted Shiseido Art Egg, a project to support young up-and-coming artists. From hundreds of proposals 3 winners were selected and recently announced. The winners work will be on display at the Shiseido Gallery, luxuriously located in the Shiseido headquarters in Ginza.

1)    Aiko Miyanaga. Jan 9th – Feb 1st
Aiko receved her MFA from Tokyo University of the Arts last year. A majority of her work deals with the chemical compound Naphthalene, which she uses to model everyday objects. The properties of the chemical then cause the objects to gradually transition form a solid to a gas, illustrating a fleeting and almost destructive sense of time.

Images from the installation, “As Slumber Arrives.” (2003)
Courtesy of Aiko Miyanaga

2)    Kanako Sasaki. Feb 6th – Mar 1st
Kanako received her MFA in photography from our very own SVA in 2004. Kanako is a storyteller. She photographs herself in sites of historical significance, using history as an alternate landscape.

From the series, “Walking in the Jungle.”
Courtesy of Kanako Sasaki

3)    Kouseki Ono. Mar 6th – Mar 29th
Kouseki received his MFA in printmaking from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2006. He uses an intricate and tedious process that I don’t really understand, but it involves tiny dots layered over 100 times. Perhaps it’s akin to pointillism.

“Long time ago the moon changed the color of the water surface” (2008)
Courtesy of Shiseido Gallery

Happy New Year!!

I introduced the work of art director Yuji Tokuda late last month but thought I would take a deeper dive because I feel like he is operating under the radar and his work definitely warrants more attention.

These are a series of advertisements done for Japan Lighting Design, a company specializing in interior lighting. Instead of displaying the product, Tokuda chose to communicate the warmth and atmosphere created by the company’s products.

I actually remember seeing this ad on a train once for Suntory bottled water. Tokuda incorporates actual vegetation that grows around where the water is bottled. The ad reads, “there are others out there, pickier about their water than us.”

These are a set of ads for the Japan Typography Association.  Back in the day, when typography still relied on phototypesetting, the JTA was the only company in Japan that had records of every language in the world. To commemorate the old technique Tokuda created these fascinating landscapes using black & white typography of street ads.

Finally, I am crazy about this stamp, titled “Hooooooooooles,” which was part of a POST Stamp Exhibition in ’07. I love the idea of how the background color of the envelope would show through, essentially altering the stamp depending on your choice of envelope.