Japanese artists

Do you have a weakness for Japanese art? Located on an isolated island, Japanese art remained uninfluenced by Western society for a long time. In traditional Japanese art, we often see woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), hanging scrolls (kakejiku), or illustrated handscrolls (emaki). Most often, these traditional artworks will also include calligraphy (shodo). These mediums are distinct characteristics of traditional Japanese arts. Famous traditional artists include Utamaro and Utagawa Toyokuni. More recently, Japanese modern and contemporary art has been explosive in today's art world. What was once an isolated entity, has now become a highly sought-after commodity. Artists like Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama have dominated the art scene by creating wildly out-of-this-world works that contribute to Japan's thriving artistic state. Despite the initial unease towards Western influence, Japanese art has been anything sort of successful. 


Since the success of Superflat, a contemporary art movement influenced by Japanese anime, manga and pop culture and founded by Takashi Murakami, Japanese artists have invaded the international art scene.

Japanese art is distinguished by its great diversity. Some artists, such as Yoshitomo Nara, with his drawings of children and dogs with large naive eyes, retain, with a focus on the theme of innocence, the sensitive and fragile aspect of their traditional art. Others add to their art a degree of provocation and eroticisicm. Yayoi Kusama and Yoko Ono, both provocative and sometimes erotic, began their careers as artists during the 1960s in New York working with the movements Happening and Fluxus, respectively.

Others still are interested in the history of their country, pop culture or the consumer society. Ryoko Watanabe, for example, is inspired by Japanese stereotypes such as the Geisha and incorporates such characters into modern and urban landscapes.

Read more
Photography, Her-Untitled 5, Ying Chen

Ying Chen

Photography . 61 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography . 24 x 20 x 0.1 inch

£1,621

Painting, Looking for hope, Kenny Rk

Kenny Rk

Painting . 42 x 59.4 x 3 cm Painting . 16.5 x 23.4 x 1.2 inch

£1,513

Painting, Doko, Satoshi Morita

Satoshi Morita

Painting . 12.8 x 18.2 x 3 cm Painting . 5 x 7.2 x 1.2 inch

£1,239

Painting, Forest #28, Mayumi Kuwayama

Mayumi Kuwayama

Painting . 53 x 65.2 x 3 cm Painting . 20.9 x 25.7 x 1.2 inch

£1,416

Print, Femme 23, Shiko Munakata

Shiko Munakata

Print . 31 x 24 x 1 cm Print . 12.2 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch

£1,239

Fine Art Drawings, Forgiveness, Tomo Sakurai

Tomo Sakurai

Fine Art Drawings . 45 x 33 x 2.2 cm Fine Art Drawings . 17.7 x 13 x 0.9 inch

£1,593

Sculpture, Mushroom Blues I, Go Segawa

Go Segawa

Sculpture . 10.8 x 14 x 10.4 cm Sculpture . 4.3 x 5.5 x 4.1 inch

£708

Painting, N°14, Masayoshi Hanawa

Masayoshi Hanawa

Painting . 30 x 21 cm Painting . 11.8 x 8.3 inch

£664

Print, Lemon Drop, Nobu Haihara

Nobu Haihara

Print . 76.2 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Print . 30 x 20 x 2 inch

£2,067

Print, We Live Here, Roamcouch

Roamcouch

Print . 61 x 61 x 1 cm Print . 24 x 24 x 0.4 inch

£553

Painting, Soba, HIroomi Ito

HIroomi Ito

Painting . 40 x 20 x 4 cm Painting . 15.7 x 7.9 x 1.6 inch

£3,211

Painting, TN845-T, Hachiro Kanno

Hachiro Kanno

Painting . 41 x 99 x 2 cm Painting . 16.1 x 39 x 0.8 inch

£3,186

Painting, Nabis, Hiromi Sengoku

Hiromi Sengoku

Painting . 60 x 72 x 4 cm Painting . 23.6 x 28.3 x 1.6 inch

£2,027

Photography, Untitled, Kishin Shinoyama

Kishin Shinoyama

Photography . 25.5 x 17 cm Photography . 10 x 6.7 inch

£398

Painting, 76, Miyako Shimizu

76

Miyako Shimizu

Painting . 44 x 38 x 2 cm Painting . 17.3 x 15 x 0.8 inch

£3,584

Painting, Pathos 1, Tomo Sakurai

Tomo Sakurai

Painting . 72.7 x 60.6 x 3 cm Painting . 28.6 x 23.9 x 1.2 inch

£1,947

Print, Bouda II, Shiko Munakata

Shiko Munakata

Print . 30 x 23 x 1 cm Print . 11.8 x 9.1 x 0.4 inch

£1,062

Painting, Tangled Thoughts, Mari Ito

Mari Ito

Painting . 60 x 60 x 4 cm Painting . 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch

£5,133

Print, Sans titre, Sizu Simada

Sizu Simada

Print . 100 x 65 cm Print . 39.4 x 25.6 inch

£266

Sculpture, F.200101, Toshio Iezumi

Toshio Iezumi

Sculpture . 5.5 x 30 x 23 cm Sculpture . 2.2 x 11.8 x 9.1 inch

£3,452

Painting, Dots, Sakurako Hamaguchi

Sakurako Hamaguchi

Painting . 53 x 45.5 x 2 cm Painting . 20.9 x 17.9 x 0.8 inch

£584

Painting, White, Tomo Sakurai

Tomo Sakurai

Painting . 91 x 72.7 x 5 cm Painting . 35.8 x 28.6 x 2 inch

£2,655

Photography, Altar, Wataru Furuta

Wataru Furuta

Photography . 40 x 80 x 0.2 cm Photography . 15.7 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch

£1,859

Print, Untitled, Eiji Kaji

Eiji Kaji

Print . 33 x 41 x 0.1 cm Print . 13 x 16.1 x 0 inch

£295

Print, Bouda, Shiko Munakata

Shiko Munakata

Print . 27 x 19 x 1 cm Print . 10.6 x 7.5 x 0.4 inch

£1,062

Painting, Figure (a), Masaya Eguchi

Masaya Eguchi

Painting . 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting . 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

£4,819