About me:
When I was in school, the art curriculum largely ignored Asian artists. I am driven to make art and to submit it to shows to increase awareness of Japanese American artists specifically and Asian American artist more generally.
My father had 100% Japanese heritage. He taught me to be diligent and meticulous in my work. My Caucasian American mother inspired me with her endless creativity and eye for the forms and colors of nature. With these influences, I am developing my own contemporary style using traditional Japanese motifs and techniques.
I am a multi-disciplinary artist. Currently, I'm working on two series. The first series is inspired by gold-leaf Japanese screens called “byobu”. I collage handmade washi paper and watercolor images onto 24-carat gold screens custom-made for me by a 3rd-generation craftsman in Kyoto, Japan.
Series 2 is my ongoing work to combat discrimination and to sound the alarm on climate change. My father's family came from Japan only to be among the 120,000+ Japanese Americans unjustly incarcerated during WW II. His family was interned in the concentration camp in Minidoka, ID. My experiences growing up mixed race often informs my work.
I graduated from UC San Diego with a double major in art and cinema. I was chosen to enter the IATSE Camera Guild in Los Angeles and worked for over 15 years as a camera assistant in movies and TV for years while showing my ceramics at LA galleries. I started painting in oil and creating collages during the pandemic and opened my art studio in 2023.
I am a member of the Los Angeles Art Association, the Southern California Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art, the International Association of Art (official partner of UNESCO), LELA International, and Asian Art Contemporary.
Fellowships and Recognition:
October 2024 - Selected for a curated collection of international Asian Artists by Asian Art Contemporary
September 2023 - Selected by the California Arts Council and SVCREATES for an Emerging Artist Fellowship, Central California Region
Selected Showings:
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
November 2023 - Community Arts Workshop "Ready to Hang" in Santa Barbara, CA
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 show "Festoon"
March 2022 - Los Angeles Art Association show "Gleaming"
February 2022 - Los Angeles Art Association show "Fact-Finding"
©2023 Tama Takahashi. All Rights Reserved.