All Images ©Rie Takeda Your art is described as ‘Neo Japonism’ – could you share what this means to you, and how it reflects your work? Rie Takeda: In short, Neo Japonism is fusing the essence of traditional calligraphy, Japanese design and poetry with contemporary art forms.As well as the essence of traditional Japanese artisan, this style has two key essences which became the nucleus for my work. First, it consists of the flow of Japonisme-influenced art, especially by Paris and Vienna-based artists, since the 1870s. The second essence is the artworks of Taishō. The curiosity and boldness of artists experimenting with the new wave of the West and creating … Read More

Your art career has spanned over 30 years. Could you share how you first became interested in art? HIROKO IMADA: It is hard to say when I first became interested in art but I can say it must have been the influence of my mother, who loves art in general. I remember I used to go to art exhibitions, museums, classical concerts, theatre, etc. with my mother from when I was a small child, and I really enjoyed the experience. Also, I started to have piano and violin lessons at an early age and later on I was a member of a chorus from the ages of 8 to 12, … Read More

Left – Fishing Boat at IneMiddle – ShirakawagoRight – Woodland Shrine How long have you been painting, and when did you know an art career was for you? Matthew: I’ve been painting since I was a child. I didn’t paint much during my art studies and it was during my early twenties that I decided to concentrate fully on painting. Have you always worked with watercolours? M: I focused on watercolours for a long time, but over the past year, I’ve been painting a lot in oils. I find it refreshing to change medium as it presents so many more challenges. It’s important to try to keep a fresh approach … Read More

“Jiji and Kinako on Washi”, your photography exhibition with Sway Gallery London, explored the extraordinary connection between a 94-year-old man with Alzheimer’s and his loving cat. Celebrating relationships is a key theme of your work – how have you adapted during the pandemic, since many of us are unable to meet others in person? Akiko: It was hard and it still is hard to adapt to this new-normal. I am someone who needs human connection and the more the pandemic situation got serious and the more this new-normal became real, I began to crave for it. However, I found that it wasn’t just me. When we still didn’t know much … Read More

You’ve held two solo shows in 2018 and 2020 at Sway Gallery London, how did these come about? SAKI: Sway Gallery had kindly contacted me to offer me show space. The first show (“Hana Machi”) went really well and so we decided to collaborate on another (socially distanced) exhibition called “Tayu Tau”. We’re hoping to plan a third one but… we’ll see. Having started out in street art in 2009, you’ve since become well-known for other art forms and mediums, such as illustration and portraiture painting – was this a natural transition? S: Yes, when I think about my art career, everything just happened naturally. At first, I wasn’t even … Read More

You exhibited at Sway Gallery twice in 2019, with “Bijin-ga Vague” in Paris and “Lost in Transition” in London – could you tell us a little bit about how the shows came about? Did you curate each exhibition based on each city? AKIKO: My very first solo exhibition was held at Sway Gallery Paris in March 2019, it opened on International Women’s Day and the theme was, of course, the woman; bijin-ga is a Japanese term for the depiction of beautiful women. I exhibited about 40 different works, which were inspired by traditional ukiyo-e. It was a beautiful experience that taught me a lot and that gave me the opportunity … Read More