I'm a mixed-race Japanese-American and the descendent of a family who was incarcerated in concentration camp in Minidoka, ID during WW II. Some of my family members were born in the USA and had never even been to Japan, yet were classified as "enemy alien". My main goal as an artist is to increase the visibility of Asian American artists, after finding them generally excluded in the curriculum of my grade school and college.
I am a multi-disciplinary artist working concurrently on two series: The first is inspired by the 24-karat gold-leaf Japanese screens called byobu. I create landscapes from my hometown of Santa Barbara by collaging handmade washi paper and watercolor images onto 24-karat gold screens custom-made for me by a 3rd-generation craftsman in Kyoto, Japan.
The second series is comprised of mixed media work that examines the Japanese-American experience, my experiences as a woman in our culture, environmental issues and social commentary.
I graduated from the University of California San Diego with a double major in art and cinema then was chosen for an apprenticeship with the IATSE Camera Guild in Los Angeles, working as a camera assistant in movies and TV for almost 20 years while showing my ceramics at LA galleries. I began painting in oil and creating collage during the pandemic and received so much encouragement that I opened my Santa Barbara, CA studio in 2023.
My first year as a professional artist, I was awarded an Emerging Artist Fellowship by the California Arts Council and SVCREATES. I also had my first international showing at the International Exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, with one work winning an "Award of Excellence" and the other a "Gold Award" (the highest honor). I've gone on to win other awards and to add group exhibitions in Italy and South Korea to my international showings.
I hope that young Asian American girls can study art today and see themselves as both the subject of and as the creators of contemporary art. I also hope to share my love of the Japanese aesthetic, which includes traditional colors and patterns, asymmetry, active negative space, subtlety and observance of nature.
Fellowships and Recognition:
October 2024 - Selected for a curated collection of international Asian Artists by Asian Art Contemporary. Read article
September 2023 - Selected by the California Arts Council and SVCREATES for an Emerging Artist Fellowship, Central California Region
Selected Showings:
August 2025 - CICA Museum (Czong Institute for Contemporary Art) in Gimpo, South Korea - "Circle 2025"
June 2025 - The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art - "The 24th Japan International Art Exchange Exhibition", curator Julienne Johnson
April 2025 - Gallery of Hermosa -"The Spirit of Omoide Yokocho"
March 2025 - two works selected by Primo Piano LivinGallery for "Art Woman 2025" in Lecce, Italy
October 2024 - Beverly Hills Art Show, Beverly Hills, CA with Southern California Women's Caucus for Art
September 2024 - Gallery B612, Seattle, WA - "Landscape Dreamscape"
August 2024 - Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum - "A Bridge for Peace, 8.9 Peace Exhibition" with LELA International
June 2024 - Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara -"El Nuevo Salon: Arte del Pueblo"
June 2024 - Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA "Making Meaning", juror Stephen Swan
June 2024 - The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art -"The 23rd Japan International Art Exchange Exhibition", curator Julienne Johnson; my collage "Surviving
WW II" won a Gold Award (the highest level)
May 2024 - Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art - "[TBH}...To Be Honest Tri-County Juried Show", jurist Walter Maciel, "Freefall" chosen Popular Favorite by attendees
April 2024 - Southern California Women's Caucus for Art - "Honoring the Feminine: 6000 Circles" at Range Projects Gallery in Los Angeles
April 2024 - NC Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland -"Unyielding Sonder: Quiet but Multifaceted Voices by Asian/Pacific Islander Artists in the US", curator Ray Im
March 2024 - City of Santa Barbara -"State Street First Thursday" at domecil
December 2023 - Sedona Arts Center - "Big Gay Art Show" - my oil on canvas "Cis/Trans" was awarded Honorable Mention and The People's Choice
July 2023 - University of Hawaii Hilo - international show "In the Time of Climate Change"
June 2023 - The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art - "The 22nd Japan International Art Exchange Exhibition", curator Julienne Johnson; my oil on
canvas "Connected/Disconnect" was given an Award of Excellence and my collage "Born in the USA" won a Golden Award (the highest level).
June 2023 - Los Angeles Art Association - "Full Bodied", juror Erica Wall
April 2023 - Los Angeles Art Association - "Non Sequitur"
March 2023 - Los Angeles Art Association - "Small Time"
February 2023 - MVA Gallery, Bethlehem, PA - "Amazing Portraits - Human and Animal", juror Max Victor Alper
September 2022 - Los Angeles Art Association - "Festoon"
March 2022 - Los Angeles Art Association - "Gleaming"
February 2022 - Los Angeles Art Association - "Fact-Finding"
* Member Los Angeles Art Association, the Southern California Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art, the International Association of Art, LELA International, and Asian Art Contemporary.
@tama_art_2
©2025 Tama Takahashi. All Rights Reserved.