Yoshiaki Kita and TANJC | Photographer and Contemporary Artist
Pre-garden
“A true gardener works with nature to create a landscape. This piece represents the clash between the true beauty of natural form and
the creativity of design.”
Yoshiaki Kita began his career in 1987 in Japan, travelling through Europe, Africa, and Asia. He seeks to capture the raw primitive aspects of life with portraits of children, animals, and ruined landscapes. In 2002, he received the National Geographic Grand Prize for his work and in 2003 was featured during the Nikon Salon event. TANJC is a multi-disciplinary Chinese-Malaysian contemporary artist, whose distinctive artistry can be traced to a combination of digital interactive installations and analog technologies. He was awarded the Tohoku Digital Content Grand Prize in 1998 for his first computer animated short film. More recently, he is known for his Fluid City and Gel City pieces that feature projection mapping.
Tomoko Kawa | Calligrapher
Byobu : Correlation 2012 #8 / Kakejiku : Correlation 2010 #3
The brush movement between the dots, connecting and completing, imagining the invisible.
Ms. Kawao first learned calligraphy at the age of 6 and since, she has received numerous awards. Since 2004, she has studied under Master Syoshu. Recently, she developed the “Correlation” series, focusing on the brush movement between the dots. In addition to exhibitions, her work is also found on the Hankyu-Railway “Arashiyama” station logo and window displays of various department stores. She has collaborated with musicians and fashion brands, performed live performances, held workshops for the disabled, and continues to pursue calligraphy, not only within Japan, but internationally. This year her work, “Nijushisekki,” can be found at the Kyoto Daimaru store entrance. Ms. Kawao was born in 1977 in Hyogo Prefecture. She attended Doshisha Women’s University and is now a resident of Kyoto.
Koji Sakai | Interior Designer
Douraku-an
A “mobile, ready-to-assemble tea house” with a sense of fun, creating a communicative space.
Motto: “SIA X DESIGN = HAPPINESS” With experience at an architectural firm since 2002, Mr. Sakai has now become the leader of store development for the far east sector at SIXTY.spa, a company based in Italy. In collaboration with the Italian architectural firm Studio63, he has opened concept stores in Rome, Florence, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tokyo. In 2004, based around the core value of “Happiness”, he formed Creative Unit Siesta International Associates, which engages in various types of creative work, such as graphic design to interior design, architecture, video, product development, LED light installations, etc. Mr. Sakai is also a part-time design school lecturer. His published work has received numerous awards. He is currently the director of Siesta International Associated (SIA), a first-class architectural firm.
Hal Sowa | Landscape Architect
Garden-nano
“A ‘garden-nano’ is a desktop installation. In spite of the small size of this garden,
we must realize the fact this small garden includes the huge landscape and the cosmos.” Professor of Landscape Architecture at Kyoto University of Art & Design and President of the CLAP Environmental Research Institute, Mr. Sowa deals with architectural planning, workshop, urban development and planning based on landscape design, taking ecological/universal design into consideration. Recently working in Milano, he plans to develop garden designs from an international perspective. Mr. Sowa has introduced the concept of a ‘desktop garden’ – a small garden that can be placed on a table. Awards and accomplishments include: Mirano fuori salone 2009 to 2012 – silver prize; The 1300th Anniversary of Nara Heijo-kyo Capital, Special Exhibitions of Lighting (2010); The Mayor of Kyoto Award: Kyoto Design Awards (2010).
Showko Kawahara | Ceramic Artist / Pottery Designer
Sione: A Picture Pottery
The concepts of pottery and sound are harmoniously captured in Sione’s pottery.
Each design series is developed around a story that provides the inspiration for the pottery. Ms. Kawahara is the daughter of Mr. Kosai Miyagawa, the sixth master potter of Makazu pottery wares in Kyoto. After training in Saga, Arita in 2005, she established her own craft center, “Springshow Studio”, creating unique works of ceramic art. After that, she became involved in surface design like graphic art. Sione was established in 2005 during their “Springshow” and was incorporated in 2009. Ms. Kawahara spent years gathering wisdom through everyday life and work. She weaves the traditional Japanese emphasis on aesthetics into her pottery designs of Sione, and innovating ways to express traditional Japanese culture for the modern age in her ceramic art.