Kaoru Akagawa's biography

Kaoru Akagawa
www.meisterin-akagawa.jp
kaoru.akagawa.kana@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/akagawa.kaoru

Born in Canada, grew up in the U.S. and Japan, and since 2007 in Europe.
A contemporary artist and also a master of Japanese calligraphy (kana shodo).
Her challenge to revive ancient traditional Japanese syllabary, kana, in
modern times with her own style of art, kana art, has been featured in notable
meida including CNN, The Guradian and BBC Radio.
Education
1995 Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations in Keio University
2000 - Present Member of Shodo Geijutsu-in Foundation, Tokyo, Japan
2000 - 2016 Japanese calligraphy (kana shodo) studies under
Master Eiko Kurokawa, Counselor of Mainichi Shodo Exhibition
and Executive Adviser of Shodo Geijutsu-in Foundation
2008 Master (Shihan) Title and Mukansa Title as Kana Calligrapher, Shodo Geijutsu-in Foundation
Work Experience
1995 - 2000 Designer in TV-comercial; Cosmetic
2008 - Present Holding workshops and lectures on kana shodo as a master
2010 - Present Self-employed contemporary artist
2019 - Present Jury candidate of Shodo Geijutsu-in Foundation
Solo Exhibitions as a Contemporary Artist (Selected)
2017 Liechtenstein National Museum, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Sway Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Gallery 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
Embassy of Japan in Berlin, Germany
Japanese Information and Culture Center, Japanese Embassy, Vienna, Austria
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 as a Contemporary Artist (Selected)
2019 Gallery BOA - PARIS, Paris, France
2018 Gallery BOA - PARIS, Paris, France
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, Paris, France
2014 Gallery T&T, Bayreuth Festival, Steigenberger-Festspielrestauration, Germany
A Collective of Japanese Emerging Artists, DanDans, Berlin, Germany
Exhibitions as a Master of Calligraphy
2018 - Present The Manichi Shodo Exhibition, the largest exhibition of its kind in Japan
2002 - Present Annual Shodo Geijutsuin Exhibition in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2002 - Present Annual Tama-matsukai Exhibition in The Tokyo Ginza Art Gallery Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Lectures and Wokshops as a Master of Calligraphy (Selected)
2019 University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
University of London, London, United Kingdom
2017 Liechtenstein National Museum, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
2015 University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Japanese Information and Culture Center, Japanese Embassy, Bern, Switzerland
2014 International Women‘s Club, Frankfurt, Germany
2012 State Museum Siegburg, Siegburg, 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
Press (Selected)
2020 CNN
2019 The Guardian, a British Newspaper
BBC Radio, Front Row
Politiken, a Danish Newspaper
2017 General Anzeiger, a German Newspaper
2014 Bild Zeitung, a German Newspaper
2013 Internet Video Magazine by Mercedes Benz, Germany
Online-Magazine by Veuve Clicquot, LVMH, France
The Kyoto Shimbun Newspaper, a Japanese Newspaper
2012 Insight Germany, Deutsche Welle, Germany (45 minutes solo interview TV program)
San-in Chuo Shimpo Newspaper, a Japanese Newspaper
Rheinische Post, a German Newspaper
Contributions to Magazines and TV (Selected)
2016 "Shizuka na Hikari (Silent Light)", In: Artlet, Vol. 45, 03/2016, Keio University Art Center, Tokyo
2014 "How are Kana Shodo Culture, the opera Madame Butterfly, and Japanese Aesthetics related?",
In: Beyond Calligraphy (Online magazine), 27/02/2014, Boston
2013 "Why the World Would End without Stroke Orders", In: Beyond Calligraphy (Online magazine),
01/08/2013, Boston
"The Beauty of Inefficiency: A story about Traditional Hiragana", In: Beyond Calligraphy (Online
magazine), 22/03/2013, Boston
2012 "Kana Moji Boom no Torai wo Yume Mite", In: Mita Hyoron, No. 1159, 08/2012, pp. 48,
Keio University, Tokyo
Comissioned work for a TV program "Aspekte", ZDF, Germany
Comissioned Works
2017 Logo for a restaurant in Germany
2012 Comissioned work for a TV program "Aspekte", ZDF, Germany
Award as a Contemporary Artist
2011 Creative Market Tokyo, Method Award
Awards as a Master of Calligraphy
2019 Tokusen Award at the 72nd Shodo Geijutsuin Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
2002 - Present Numerous awards at annual Shodo Geijutsuin Exhibition in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum