Creating in the process of living and decaying – Special feature: Artist interview with Yui Koyanagi (part 1)

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Interview with a popular copperplate engraver, Yui Koyanagi. Please enjoy reading the first half of this interview by the FFD editorial team! Interview with artist Yui Koyanagi (part 1) Drawing anything and everything in front of me Thank you for your time today. Could you tell us about what got you started in painting? I don’t remember the exact event that got me into painting, but as a child I was always drawing. I used to draw on the front and back of flyers since pre-school. Although I didn’t know it at the time, my parents actually kept those drawings in a box for me.  In elementary school, I was … Read more

The Cedar tree is like a grandfather to me, it’s why I paint trees – Interview with Nihonga artist Masami Shitara (part 2)

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Interview with Nihonga artist, Masami Shitara. Please enjoy reading part 2 of this interview by the FFD editorial team! Interview with Nihonga artist Masami Shitara (part 2) Setback at the first solo exhibition What were you working on after moving to Tokyo? I immediately started working at an art supply store inside an art college prep school in Ikebukuro. The people working there were all aspiring artists, and more or less in the same boat as me. It was easy to make friends there, and I really enjoyed discussing art and painting with my colleagues. Soon after turning 24, I started bringing my portfolio to art galleries. Once I found … Read more

The boy who preferred to draw than to speak went on to become a popular artist – Special feature: Artist interview with Yuki Saito (part 2)

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Interview with artist Yuki Saito. Please enjoy reading the second half of this interview by the FFD editorial team! Interview with artist Yuki Saito. The boy who preferred to draw than to speak went on to become a popular artist (part 2) Saito’s drawings are extraordinary, but his oil paintings are devastating I passed the first part of the examination for Geidai (Tokyo University of the Arts. Founded in 1887, it’s Japan’s only national comprehensive university of the arts, and the best fine arts university in Japan), which was the drawing part. But I failed the second part, which was the oil painting section. The same thing happened when I took … Read more

“At first, my art was solely for the hospital patients.” – Interview with artist, Yuki Shogaki, on drawing animal songs

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Interview with artist, Yuki Shogaki, on drawing animal songs.Please enjoy reading this interview by Imoko Ichinose. Interview with ar,st Yuki Shogaki, on drawing animal songs Immersed in sports until getting dark tan lines and playing in a band during the school years Thank you for taking the time for this interview today. You’re an artist known for drawing animal songs. Have you always been interested in animals, art and music from an early age? I grew up as the middle child of three siblings, in Minoo city, Osaka. As a child, I was always chasing and joining my older brother in the mountains to play. Perhaps that’s why I’m drawn … Read more

Creating in the process of living and decaying – Special feature: Artist interview with Yui Koyanagi (part 2)

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Interview with popular copperplate engraver, Yui Koyanagi. Please enjoy reading the second half of this interview by the FFD editorial team! Interview with artist Yui Koyanagi (part 2) The flightless butterfly flies One recurring theme we see in your art is the “six-winged butterfly”. Whenever I see it, I wonder where the inspiration came from.  I created that out of my desire to describe what I was going through. I was frustrated not being able to become the woman, the person, and the artist I’d longed to be. The six-winged butterfly was born out of that internal conflict. The butterfly has such beautiful wings, but having too many wings can … Read more

The Cedar tree is like a grandfather to me, it’s why I paint trees – Interview with Nihonga artist Masami Shitara (part 3)

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Interview with Nihonga artist, Masami Shitara. Please enjoy reading part 3 of this interview by the FFD editorial team! Interview with Nihonga artist Masami Shitara (part 3) Working at the bottom of the ladder What kind of jobs did you have after you finished the charity exhibition? Once my three-year contract at the art supply store ended, I had to look for another job. I realized that as long as I could paint on my own time, I didn’t need to be too picky about my day job. I looked for a job with a lot of time off and good pay, and decided to work at the local dentist’s … Read more

List of Exhibitions (2024) *Updated as needed

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List of Exhibitions (2024) *Updated as needed Jan. 2-9 Yuki Saito Solo Exhibition at Isetan Urawa StoreJan. 2-9 A4 size painting exhibition with Seed Stories 23_24 at Isetan Urawa StoreJan. 10-16 Nancy Morozen Exhibition-Fuji Hikaru at Matsuzakaya Ueno Art GalleryJan. 15-Feb. 10 Moe Saito Solo Exhibition at Hilltopia Art SquareJan. 17-23 Ai Harada Solo Exhibition at Isetan Tachikawa StoreJan. 27-Feb. 4 Seed Stories 23_24 at Hilltopia Art SquareFeb. 7-13 Yuki Shogaki Solo Exhibition at Isetan Urawa StoreFeb. 14-20 Motoro Mouri Solo Exhibition at Isetan Urawa StoreFeb. 15-Mar 10 Fukiko Mizumura Print Exhibition at Hilltopia Art SquareMar. 6-11 Kana Mizuno Solo Exhibition at Yokohama Takashimaya StoreMar. 13-18 Kazusa Anazawa Solo Exhibition … Read more

Young Philadelphia Artist Paints Japanese Volcanoes! – Interview with Louis Claude Lafferty

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The editorial department of FFD interviewed Louis Claude Lafferty, who will have a solo exhibition at Hiltopia Art Square,  in Nishi-Shinjuku, from August 10 to 15, 2023 – please enjoy. Hello Mr. Louis, nice to meet you today. “Hello. Nice to meet you.” Louis-san, you are going to have a solo exhibition in Tokyo. What were you like as a child? “My mother is an artist. Because of her influence, I have been drawing pictures since I was a child. I spent a lot of my childhood in her studio.” ‘I learned to paint directly from my mother. Her work is made by sewing fabric together, and that has influenced … Read more