Kaoru Akagawa’s new style of art has been featured by various media, including
• CNN • The Guardian • Deutsche Welle • BBC Radio
• An art magazine, Stayinart, next to Yayoi Kusama and Ai Wei Wei
• The Avant/Garde Diaries, a video magazine initiated by Mercedes-Benz
She has held exhibitions in Berlin, Paris, London and Tokyo and has lectured at the University of Oxford, the University of London, the University of Zurich and the Financial Times.
Her artworks are created based on her technique as a master, yet are free from preconceived ideas of Japanese traditions. Akagawa strives to keep an ancient script, kana, which are referred to as "woman hand", alive through her art.
Born in Canada, grew up in the U.S. and Japan, and since 2007 has lived in Europe.
Akagawa is also active as a railway photographer and journalist, providing photographs and writing for British and Japanese railway magazines and railway calendars.
Education
| 2022 | Master of Arts in History of Art and Archaeology in SOAS University of London |
| 2008 | Master (Shihan) Title as Kana Calligrapher, Shodo Geijutsuin Foundation, Tokyo |
| 1995 | Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations in Keio University |
Solo Exhibitions (Selected)
| 2017 |
Liechtenstein National Museum, Vaduz, Liechtenstein Sway Gallery, London, United Kingdom Galerie IAC-Berlin-Königswinter, Königswinter, Germany |
| 2016 |
Gallery BOA-PARIS, Paris, France |
| 2015 |
Japanese Information and Culture Center, Japanese Embassy, Bern, Switzerland |
| 2014 |
Gallery Neuheisel, Saarbruecken, Germany Japanese Information and Culture Center, Japanese Embassy, Vienna, Austria Embassy of Japan in Berlin, Germany |
| 2013 |
Ryosokuin, a sub-temple of Kenninji, the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, Japan Siebold Museum, Wuerzburg, Germany |
| 2012 |
Eko-Haus, Duesseldorf, Germany Nippon Life Insurance Company Life Plaza Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan |
| 2011 |
Museum of the Printing Arts, Leipzig, Germany |
| 2010 |
Embassy of Japan in Berlin, Germany |
Group Exhibitions (Selected)
| 2018-Present |
Gallery BOA-PARIS, Paris, France (Twice a year) |
| 2020 |
Charity art exhibition at the Disseny Hub Barcelona museum, Barcelona, Spain |
| 2017 |
Salon d'Automne, Paris, France |
| 2016 |
The 20th Special Triennial Tobi Art Fair 2016 – Gallery Hirota Fine Art, Tokyo, Japan |
| 2015 |
International Club of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Berlin, Germany Gallery BOA, Paris, France |
| 2014 |
Gallery T&T, Bayreuth Festival, Steigenberger-Festspielrestauration, Germany A Collective of Japanese Emerging Artists, DanDans, Berlin, Germany |
Lectures and Workshops(Selected)
| 2022 | The Financial Times, London, United Kingdom |
| 2021 | Oxford University's Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, United Kingdom |
| 2019 |
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom University of London, London, United Kingdom |
| 2015 |
University of Zurich, The Section for East Asian Art, Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2014 |
International Women's Club, Frankfurt, Germany |
| 2012 |
State Museum Siegburg, Siegburg, Germany |
Interviews (Selected)
| 2024 |
Stayinart, art magazine in Austria |
| 2020 |
CNN BBC Radio, Outlook |
| 2019 |
The Guardian, Newspaper in UK BBC Radio, Front Row, UK Politiken, Newspaper in Denmark |
| 2017 |
General Anzeiger, Newspaper in Germany |
| 2014 |
Bild Zeitung, Newspaper in Germany |
| 2013 |
Internet Video Magazine by Mercedes Benz Online-Magazine by Veuve Clicquot, LVMH The Kyoto Shimbun Newspaper, Japan |
| 2012 |
Insight Germany, Deutsche Welle, Germany (45 minutes solo interview TV program) San-in Chuo Shimpo a Japanese Newspaper Rheinische Post, a German Newspaper |
Contributions to Magazines and TV (Selected)
| 2016 | "Artlet", an art magazine published by Keio University Art Center |
| 2013 - 2014 | "Beyond Calligraphy", online calligraphy magazine based in Boston, USA |
| 2012 |
"Mita Hyoron", a monthly academic magazine published by Keio University Comissioned work for Aspekte, ZDF |
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