a i c a

My Dermoid Baby

2012-01-05T10:56:00.017-05:00

aica. My Dermoid Baby. 2011. Acrylic on Canvases. 2011, 20" x 80" (20 inch Round x 4)

Work Statement:

My right ovary developed a disease known as a Dermoid Ovarian cyst. Its only cure is through surgical removal, much like an unwanted baby.

When I saw my grown "Dermoid Baby" at the hospital through an Echocardiogram, I couldn't resist having tender feelings towards it. Being Japanese, it is my nature to empathize easily with inanimate objects.

My doctor warned me against the idea, but I couldn’t help feeling that this Dermoid cyst was my ill-fated baby.

This baby has been with me all these years, growing quietly inside. But he wasn't even allowed to see my face after the birth. He was sent straight to the lab, examined, then disposed.

I was dealing not only with pain from surgery, but now also emptiness in my vacated ovary…and in my heart.

He was far from a baby shape, but I wondered if he had hoped to be a complete baby someday. And I felt he was warmhearted, since he didn’t cause any damage to my ovary. For the first time in my life, I wanted to have a baby so that I could hold him in my arms.

This series of four paintings are a eulogy to my "Dermoid Baby."

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Technical Statement/Excerpt Explanation:

The ovary is the female reproductive organ that produces eggs through a process known as ovulation. Because of its constant cell division during ovulation, the ovary is prone to develop various types of tumors and cysts.

Most types of ovarian cysts are harmless and go away without any treatment. A Dermoid cyst in the ovaries does not go away.

In fact, it can grow large and become very painful. Left untreated, the cyst can twist, rupture, cause internal infection and can even cause cancer.

Dermoid cysts may also contain mature skin cells complete with hair follicles and sweat glands, sometimes clumps of hair, and also bone, nails, teeth, nerves and eyes.

The chances of a Dermoid cyst being malignant are statistically low, but when it is happening inside your own body, having the statistics on your side is little comfort. You cannot be absolutely sure if the cyst is malignant or benign until a biopsy is done after the surgery.

Waiting for the biopsy results was the most difficult and frightening mentally.

Ovarian cancer is known as the "Silent Killer" due to the difficulty of its early detection. So I start to wonder…. Did they detect something in me early enough? Will I be able to keep my ovaries? Do I have cancer?

The diagnoses and the procedural risks had me thinking about death and my own mortality. The human aspects of the Dermoid cyst along with me being Japanese and my nature to empathize with inanimate things had me thinking about the “life” of my Dermoid baby.

Sorrowful and warm; it is the juxtaposition of these feelings that gave birth to this series of paintings.

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Cultural Statement:

Japanese people grow up with the social convention to believe everything has a soul. At every opportunity, teachers and parents tell children to treat things with care because they have their own souls. Kids often give things a name, so that they can feel more intimate with the things they use everyday.

This belief is not only based on their social convention, but also stems form their religion, Shintoism. Shintoism, the original Japanese religion, is Polytheism much like Greek Mythology, and it teaches that everything contains god (or spirit). Its roots can be traced back to prehistoric era and its practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki" in the 8th century.

Countless Manga and Anime also surround Japanese from an early age. This imagery and heightened storytelling contributes to the tendency to easily empathize with fictional characters, a tendency that continues well into adulthood, and is not only a modern day phenomenon; the oldest Manga can be traced back to 12th century in Japan.

Today, the area of influence is far beyond Manga or Anime. The majority of food & drink packages have mascot characters. Even medical supply packages have their own characters in Japan.

Most every person in Japan knows about Osamu Tezuka, the father of Japanese Anime. He created a medical adventures manga called "Black Jack" in the 1970s. In it, there is a girl character called Pinoko, who was a teratoma (Dermoid Cyst is one form of teratoma) and was recreated as a complete human by the main character.

I loved Pinoko when I was a young girl and enjoyed reading "Black Jack."

I understand that Dermoid cyst is a disease, but being Japanese, I couldn't help but feel as if my Demoid cyts was a baby who couldn't be born into the world.

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Image Descriptions:

This series of four round canvases represents right Ovary, Uterus (right half), Uterus (left Half), and left Ovary. They also symbolize First Leaves, Buds, Flowers, Seeds, respectively.

In this painting, I draw "Dermoid Baby" based on the shape of an 8-week old embryo that lacks human features and is shaped like a fish. Animal-like ears on "Dermoid Baby" represent his "un-humanness."

About Paintings (from Left to Right):

Right Ovary: "Dermoid Baby" is forming its shape in Right Ovary and First leaves are growing and surrounding.

Uterus (right side): "Dermoid Baby" is watching me sleep. Grown first leaves surrounding uterus and some of them are becoming buds.

Uterus (left side): "Dermoid Baby" is pulling me into the uterus as he is coming out from my belly and trying to hold my hands. Flowers are blooming. Flowers are the symbol of life, but also represent the baby’s short life and that his is nearing death.

Left Ovary: My Left Ovary is holding me as I'm cradling "Dermoid Baby" in my arms, although I cannot actually touch him because of the amnion membrane. We are so close but will never physically touch. Flowers are withering away, but new seeds are developing. Signs of new life.

2012 noa & ash calendar!

2011-12-22T00:54:00.005-05:00

i don't know about you, but i love cats.

i love people who love and care about cats =^_^=

every year i make my own calendar, and my pin up girls are my cats!!

♡ noa & ash ♡

if you don't have next year's calendar, feel free to use mine!

OK, here are the noa & ash 2012 calendar!

Please note: This calendar is for personal use only.

You may not use this calendar for commercial purposes.

you can download zip file here,

http://www.atelieraica.com/noa_ash/noa_ash_2012.zip

or click on each image above to see larger image,

and you can save and print individually.

here is the printing info

paper size: letter

madia type: photo paper or any you paper like..

i used the Canon's photo paper plus semi-gloss, and turned out beautifully.

format: Jpeg

zip file size is about 11MB

if you have trouble downloading them, please let me know.

i really love all of the noa & ash's pictures in there.

aren't they so cute and funny?! what do you think?

Greeting card illustration

2011-12-17T21:46:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays!!

2011-12-12T13:51:00.000-05:00

Wishing you a holiday filled with peace & love...

and a New Year rich with blessings!!

aica♡

Opening reception this friday at Chelsea Art Museum

2011-06-01T00:01:00.004-04:00

Hi there, how are you?

I just wanted to let you know that one of my paintings, "Root of Lotus"

will be exhibited at the "1st International Juried Peace Art Exhibition"

from June 3 - June 5, 2011 at the Chelsea Art Museum,

556 W 22nd St. NYC 10011.

The Harmony for Peace Foundation is hosting the exhibition of 50 works of art

the share a theme of Peace.

I'll be there for the opening reception this Friday from 6:15pm to 7pm.

I know it's last-minute notice but hope to see you there =^_^= !

Details below:

Scheduled Events:

June 3rd: OPENING RECEPTION, 6-8PM

Awards Ceremony 6:15-6:45PM

Musical Program: Paul Shaw (piano) 7-7:30PM

June 4th: EXHIBITION HOURS 1-5PM

Afternoon Tea Reception 2-4PM

Mini Concert for HFP Japan Relief Fund

June 5th: EXHIBITION HOURS 12-4PM

Afternoon Tea Reception 1-3PM

Mini Concert for HFP

RSVP to: rsvp@harmonyforpeace.org

Artworks will be for sale with a portion of the proceeds to benefit our HFP Japan Relief Fund.

For more information about the show, visit their website,

http://harmonyforpeace.org/content/international-peace-art-competition

Thank you and have a nice week!

aica

makeover!!

2011-05-09T20:24:00.003-04:00

Have you checked my website?

It has been renewed and added more and bigger images :D

Specially the illustration section!!

Click here to see the new look of atelieraica.com!

I hope you enjoy visiting my site as much as I do :)

thank you!

aica

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-04-30T00:26:00.004-04:00

meow! here is my mother's day card for you :D

happy mother's day for every mom in the world!!

♡

For Japan

2011-03-27T22:48:00.006-04:00

Recently I got an iPad with this smart finger drawing app called Sketchbook Pro as a sweet gift.

So I though it would be great to draw something for Japan.

I feel deeply sad reading news about disaster in Japan.

But at the same time some stories are very inspiring.

Like this one; an elder man said "Let's rebuild Japan again"with smile,

right after he was rescued from being trapped in a building for three days!

So I made the drawings hoping for the quick recovery and

my best wishes to the people in Japan!!

Thank you!

P.S. here are some ways you can help.

it's warmer together ^_^

2011-02-15T05:58:00.003-05:00

valentine's day petit anime

2011-02-13T05:20:00.002-05:00

♡

Firefox 4

2011-02-09T23:22:00.002-05:00

This is my entry for Firefox 4 T-shirt Design Challenge.

I love it =^_^= Mr. firefox is so cute!! He stands for our Earth!!!

hehehe.. ^_^;

hope you like it~!!

Norwegian Wood

2011-02-09T07:22:00.006-05:00

Here is a poster I made for the movie "Norwegian Wood".

This is my entry into the Don't Panic Poster Design Competition.

I don't know about you, but I love Haruki Murakami's novels.

So, when I found out about this competition, I was SO excited to try!

(It's still running so if you'd like to enter go here.)

Hope you like it, and please vote for my poster on their website.

http://www.dontpaniconline.com/designbrief/norwegian_wood/entry/1205

Thank you☆

valentine's day card

2011-01-28T20:24:00.002-05:00

have a sweet valentine's day ♡

hm?

2011-01-28T09:15:00.002-05:00

Our Tree

2011-01-09T03:37:00.005-05:00

Hello Year of the Rabbit!

2011-01-01T06:02:00.004-05:00

Bunnies are making rice cakes on the MOON! =^__^=

Happy New Year 2011!!

♡

Happy Holidays!!

2010-12-18T00:52:00.005-05:00

click here for larger view

Thank you for visiting my blog this year.

I wish you all a lovely holiday season and very happy New Year!

See you in 2011 =^_^=

☆

UTGP 2011

2010-12-05T22:50:00.016-05:00

YaAaY =*v*=!! I'm happy to announce that I am selected to the Top 50 of the UT GRAND PRIX First Selection!

UTGP 2011 is the world T-shirt design competition presented by Uniqlo and Disney.

http://ut.uniqlo.com/utgp/#!id=1319

Title of my design T-shirt is "Mickey's day off"

As you can imagine, Mickey was doing his laundry, and went out for fun!

Let's hang out with Mickey =^_^=!!

The top 20 finalists will be announced in spring 2011. Wish me luck!!

♡

Happy Birthday!

2010-10-21T23:52:00.003-04:00

I made this above painting for my friend's birthday card, and I liked it a lot.

So made a few more of them!

Hope you like them, and if your birthday is coming soon, "Happy birthday to you ^_^"

♡

Sound of Heart

2010-10-19T22:26:00.005-04:00

Sound of Heart

Acrylic on 16" round canvas, 2010

Root of Lotus

2010-10-13T13:23:00.012-04:00

Root of Lotus

Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 24 inches, 2010

petit animations

2010-07-02T02:02:00.008-04:00

The Cat and the Fish

meow meow =^-^= How are you doing?
I almost forgot I made this, but this was originally for the skchechbook project show
that I was part of. I just found it again looking though the images,
and I though why not make this into animation!? So I did :D!
Like old is new again ;-)? I hope you enjoy it :)

butterfly

my new animation! hope you like it :)

itterasshai

hahaha... I know it's all Japanese, no English subs! ehehe..:P
It's a very personal work for me.
I just had so much fun making it, and I love how it turned out.
I always make my animation music by myself, but this time I used
the 90s Japanese band, Tama's cover version of the Beatles song "Girl".

well... hope you are like one of espers, and get what he's singing XD!

Have a nice 4th of July!

keep coming!!

2010-05-30T07:24:00.003-04:00

Hello there, I just found out these cute vinyl bags are out in Japan!
My collaboration with Rebacca Taylor "2.0" ?!

Makes me wanna go to the beach ;)

<3

Rebecca Taylor NYC

2010-05-06T00:27:00.013-04:00

I went to REBECCA TAYLOR NoLita shop today
and I finally got to see the bags in person! YAY :D!!

I drew everything, all the animal prints and text were hand drawn :)
Not sure if the above photos are large enough to see,
but the bag has glitters, and cat tail part has embroidery on it.
Hope you like it!

One of the RT people told me some CAT illustration version should be in the shop
but I didn't see one... If I have any update, I'll let you know.

RT in Honk Kong shop has the collaboration collection as well!

Also they sent me below photos from their catalog,
it's nice to see they've displayed the Tees so well.

thanks <3

aica x Rebecca Taylor collaboration in stores

2010-04-27T16:08:00.006-04:00

Some more of my collaboration collection with Rebecca Taylor is out in Japan!
I still haven't got to see them in person, but i was so excited to see these pictures!
So delighted to know my mom and friends went and saw this collection, and they loved it!!
Hope you like it, too :)

Not sure how many of them are coming out in U.S..
But some should be in Nolita store sometime in May. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks <3

My collaboration with Rebecca Taylor

2010-04-22T09:44:00.019-04:00

Meow! I'm happy to announce that the first part of
my collaboration with Rebecca Taylor's collection 2010
is finally released!

The Diamond Cat T-shirts and Tanks are out in Japan!
I just love how she turned out! I hope you like them :)

There are more to come, and some tees and bags should
be in Rebecca Taylor boutique in NYC next month.

I will keep you posted on when the rest are out,
and which stores they are in.

If you read Japanese,
here is information of the Diamond Cat tee.

<3

T-shirts design

2010-04-04T08:34:00.012-04:00

I had given the opportunity to work on some illustrations for REBECCA TAYLOR, a fashion brand I love and enjoy wearing their dresses. I made a few illustrations for REBECCA TAYLOR T-shirts, one of them are sold in Japan in this month. And a few more T-shirts and bags that have my illustrations will be sold in U.S. and Japan in May.

The balloon cat illustration tee is available only in REBECCA TAYLOR Japanese store in around after April 20th.

I'll keep you posted when I get an actual image of the T-shirts!

<3

hippo!

2010-02-18T21:19:00.001-05:00

makes me smile every time i hear ur name, hippo!
hippopotamus =^__^=

A Cat and The Sun

2010-02-09T22:04:00.001-05:00

The sun is cat's sun.

I guess this one doesn't have the Kamishibai feel?

Heartwarming Scarf

2010-02-02T08:40:00.008-05:00

This is a kamishibai style of simple and cute animation.

The idea to make this came up to me when I was in my hometown Osaka Japan last month, played my nephew's nintendo DS. His DS has an animation app and he wanted me to make one as a letter to him. I really liked making it!

I came back from Osaka a week ago... It was great to be back "home"!

hope you enjoy it!

=^_^=

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-05T10:14:00.010-05:00

wishing you a wonderful new year 2010!!

Screening at LA Shorts Fest

2009-08-03T08:24:00.000-04:00

We flew to L.A. from N.Y. for our film, Logue world premiere screening at the LA Shorts Fest. Here we were in Hollywood!!

This is the theater for the LA Shorts Fest.

In front.

Dir. Hiroshi Kumatani, the director of Logue, with Mr. Robert Arentz, the director of LA Shorts Fest.

Inside of the theater.

Can you see our poster?

I really enjoyed watching it on the BIG screen with good crowd! It was such a lovely moment that the entire audience applauded when the end credits began to roll.

After the screening, Hiroshi and other talented filmmakers were asked to participate in a Q&A session.

We were glad to have some good feedback. Even after the Q&A some audiences came to us and talked about our film :)

Foto with filmmakers. It was great to have some nice conversations with other filmmakers and new friends!

Thank you all for coming and supporting! We had a wonderful day!!

L.A.

2009-08-01T01:19:00.006-04:00

Thanks everyone who supported our film Logue. The screening went and received really well!
I got back from L.A.. I had a wonderful time there, great people, yummy food and saw a lot of great shorts. Love L.A.!! I will get some images up here soon :D

Film Festival Radio will feature the director of "Logue"

2009-07-13T11:41:00.011-04:00

Hey everyone, Film Festival Radio will feature Hiroshi Kumatani, the director of "Logue", on their LIVE online radio program TOMORROW on July 14th from 7:15 to 7:30pm (Eastern Time) to discuss about our film. If you are interested, tune in at www.filmfestivalradio.com. For more information please click here. smiles :D

*UPDATED on July 14th:
Just in case you missed the live broadcast of Film Festival Radio this evening, here is the link to On-demand version. Film Festival Radio July 14th, 2009

*UPDATED on July 20th:
LOGUE is mentioned on 24-7 PressRelease.com

*UPDATED on July 31th:
LOGUE is listed on IMDb
Also LOGUE was mentioned on webDICE (Japanese)

"Logue" at LA Shorts Fest on July 28th

2009-07-06T08:34:00.004-04:00

Dear Friends!
This lovely news is not related my artwork, however I played a main character in this film, "Logue" as an actor.. ;)

We are happy to announce that our short film "Logue" has been officially selected for Los Angeles International Short Film Festival (LA Shorts Fest) 09! The film will be screening on Program #25 on July 28 - 1:00 P.M. at Sunset 5 Laemmle’s Theatre (located @ 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90048).

Yes it's in Hollywood! if you happen to be in the area, please join us for the screening of "Logue"!

Here is link of the official screening schedule for "Logue".
Link

Here is the trailer!

LOGUE Trailer from Hiroshi Kumatani on Vimeo.

Official site for "Logue"

The festival runs from July 23rd to 31st. Scarlett Johansson, Courteney Cox and Kirsten Smithwill be there on 23rd to open the festival. It must be a lot of fun to attend the festival and see great short films from all over the world.

For more detail, please visit their official site.
LA Shorts Fest Official site

Hope to see you there!
Very best,
aica

About LA Shorts Fest:
LA Shorts Fest honors those individuals who have achieved excellence in short films. As the largest short film festival in the world with 9 days of screenings, educational panels, interactive and entertaining events, the festival has quickly become the industry standard for showcasing and awarding undiscovered talent.

As officially recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences, some of these films may go on to receive Oscar nominations. In the past, 33 films have received Oscar nominations with 11 winning the coveted Oscar statue.

La Maison en Petits Cubes "The House of Small Cubes"- Director Kunio Kato won LA Shorts Fest BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM AWARD in ‘08, and 7 months later received the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at the 2009 Academy Awards.

"Spielzeugland (Toyland)" screen at LA Shorts Fest in ’08 and went on the win the Oscar for Best Live Action Short. "This Way Up", alumni of LA Shorts Fest ’08 received an Oscar nominee in the animation category.

Exhibited at Meepyung Gallery in South Korea

2009-06-20T05:10:00.012-04:00

aica "The Home of Heart"

Curators of the Hun gallery sent me below pictures of the second part of the Art Discovery in Seoul show. (Click here to see photos from the first part of the show "A&C Art Fair 2009") The exhibition is officially over on 18th. However, the works will be displayed in there for a few more days by special request of Meepyung Gallery.

"The Concept of Contemporary Art" at Meepyung Gallery on June 12th to 18th.

=^_^=

aica at REBECCA TAYLOR

2009-06-08T22:38:00.008-04:00

I was at the REBECCA TAYLOR this past weekend.

I love REBECCA's logo so much...!! The kittens are beautiful, and the shape of woman... can you see her?

Yes! NoLita Art Walk!

Here we in the every kitten's dream room...!

YAY!! my illustrations :D!!

me doing work...

doing something else... ^_^; love their dresses >_< !!

My friends stopped by the shop. Taking photos while Victor was taking a photo of me :D

REBECCA's kittens set up drinks nicely!

I haven't seen so many guys in this boutique before... haha XD

Having a great time with friends at their nice back yard...

With REBECCA's pretty kittens! We (Margaret, me and Rachel) all wearing REBECCA's dresses :)

The show was supposed to be only two days, but they extended the exhibition till 14th of this month! If you happen to be in the NoLita area, you can still go to REBECCA TAYLOR and watch my illustrations.

If you are interested to receive the updates, please leave your email address on this white book. I'll you put you in my mailing list ;)

(oh wait... haha XD! you don't have to do that, coz you know this blog already!)

Here are larger views of the illustrations :) please click and see them.

meow meow!

You may wonder what the NoLita Art Walk is about. I hadn't heard about the event before either... So I'd like to tell you about it here. They said...

"To coincide with St. Patrick's Old Cathedrals huge 200th Anniversary Celebration on June 7,

we are organizing Fragment: Art in the Park & The Nolita Art Walk in conjunction with Action Arts League. You can be part of the fun and increase pedestrian traffic to your business by hosting art in your business or just listing the art you already have in your business in the Art Walk Map.

Fragment is a two-pronged, two day event in NOLITA

that will offer visitors and neighbors alike both Art in the Park (Desalvio Playground)

and a Map Guided Nolita Art Walk through local galleries and participating businesses.

June 6th through 7th at Desalvio Playground in beautiful Nolita.

It’s not just the art – it’s the context! Art pieces and performance art by NYC artists will be featured in local shops, Laundromats, restaurants – you name it -- all around the neighborhood."

It was a great event to be with :)

SoHo Journal

2009-06-06T21:41:00.007-04:00

Found an article about me on the SoHo Journal. My name is misspelled, but nice to see this :)

aica x rebecca taylor

2009-06-05T21:28:00.005-04:00

I got a map :D

I'm really glad that I could participate NoLita Art Walk. It gives me such a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with my favorite fashion designer, Rebecca Taylor. I hope people can enjoy my art works as much as they do with Rebecca's beautiful dresses.

What makes NoLita Art Walk so great is that local residents can not only visits their favourite stores as usual and enjoy shopping, but also can get closer to an art that they may not encounter otherwise.

Here is the Nolita Art Walk website.
http://www.nolita.us/

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Exhibition at the Rebecca Taylor's boutique!!

2009-06-03T20:47:00.027-04:00

I'm happy to announce that my four illustrations have been selected for exhibition at the Rebecca Taylor's flagship boutique on this weekend! It's a part of "Fragment: Art in the Park & The NoLita Art Walk" event on June 6th and 7th.

The event is fairly casual, so there will not be a formal reception. Though, the Rebecca's boutique will have champagne and lemonade throughout the day, YAY!!

I'll be there on Saturday the 6th 1-2pm. If you can, please come by around the time and say hello :D!!

Here is the address:
Rebecca Taylor
260 Mott Street New York NY 10012
(at Between Houston and Prince)
June 6th and 7th from 11 to 7pm.

Here is a sneak peek of the show. My newest works are there too :)

aica "La Ronde"

aica "Hopes and Fears" (detail view)

aica "Sweet Cry"

aica "Bubbly Jump"

Hope to see you there!

My kittens!

2009-05-18T16:00:00.024-04:00

Yesterday was the last day of the POISON show. I had a wonderful time showing my work at the Curious matter :) The owner told me that WMBC-TV also ran the same segment on Korean news program as well. I don't speak Korean, but it'll be nice to watch. Hope I can show it here, too.

These are catalogs from the POISON show.

ah!

NooOoo!

'Hey, you shouldn't step on the books!'

ehehe.. ;) They are my babies, and my assistants.

here, she is helping me draw XD!

and I just finished the illustration! YAY :D

A&C Art Fair Seoul 2009

2009-05-13T06:18:00.005-04:00

I received a message from the Hun Gallery saying the first part of the Art Discovery in Seoul "A&C Art Fair 2009" was well finished on May 4th in South Korea! They sent me photos of the exhibition.

Can you guess which one is mine? Hint: this piece was participated the show.

...okay, here you go :)

Below is a sample image of the brochure. I guess you can get it from the second part of this event: The Concept of Contemporary Art at Gallery Meepyung in South Korea on June 12th to June 18th, while you enjoy the show.

Thank you for visiting!

From Scratch

2009-05-08T02:08:00.005-04:00

Just want to remind you that tonight is the final exhibition opening for The Sketchbook Project. It's hosted at Chicago Art Source Gallery in Chicago, IL. The opening is from 6-9pm. The exhibition will be on display though June 20th.
I wish I could make it, but I'm in NY... If you are around the area, please stop by and enjoy the show :)

The babysusu spring collection

2009-05-04T22:21:00.010-04:00

I did some designs for babysusu, New York based boy's fashion brand. Please check out the rest of the collection here.

It seems like babysusu is HOT in Australia! You can read some great articles about babysusu at Babyology.

Exhibition "ART DISCOVERY IN SEOUL" 4/28 - 6/18/09

2009-04-25T01:50:00.009-04:00

aica "The Home of Heart" watercolor on canvas

This piece was invited to participate in the event!

4/28 - 6/18 '09: "ART DISCOVERY IN SEOUL"
International circular event by the Hun Gallery. Juried Fine Art Exhibition sponsored by Hun Art Foundation, Sinwon Art, and A&C Art Fair.
4/28 - 5/4 '09: "A&C Art Fair Seoul 2009" Seoul Art Gallery, S.Korea.
6/12 - 6/18 '09: "The Concept of Contemporary Art" Gallery Meepyung, S.Korea.

I'm so excited...but i won't be there... ;'( If you are around the area, please stop by and check it out!

aica WMBC-TV interview at Curious Matter

2009-04-17T23:56:00.010-04:00

As I mentioned previous post, I was interviewed by Ms. Nicole Israel at the Curious Matter gallery - "POISON" exhibition for the Good News segment on WMBC-TV. By surprise! The segment was aired TODAY! I uploaded this clip to YouTube to share with you :D

TV Interview!!

2009-04-16T22:15:00.014-04:00

I came back to the Curious Matter for...

WMBC's interview :D!!

New Jersey local news, WMBC-TV, would like to do a story on the exhibition, "POISON" at Curious Matter. The Gallery owners, Arthur and Raymond, kindly invited me to join the interview! A few other artists were also there, and I really enjoyed having a conversation with them before the interview.

This is a picture of me between Nicole (anchor woman) and Raymond (owner/artist). She was so nice (and beautiful)! I was kind of nervous at first, but she made it really easy!! Thank you =) Thank you for great time, Raymond and Arthur!!

This was third time visiting the Curious Matter, and it's always in a refreshing blue sky day. I noticed that in-front of the gallery has cherry blossom trees, and they've bloomed beautifully! Cherry blossom always makes me happy... maybe because I'm Japanese.

Smile :D

P.s. The print catalog of the POISON show is now available from here.

"POISON" opening scrapbook from Curious Matter

2009-04-15T10:57:00.013-04:00

Thank you so much for coming, everyone! What a great time we had :D!!

The photos by Tara from Curious Matter.
Please click to see larger images.

"POISON" Opening Reception photos

2009-04-06T11:03:00.009-04:00

The Curious matter opening was so fun in the beautiful spring air!

he was my music professor!

asked me to sign on an invitation card!

this was my first time!!

he is one of the curators of the show and also an amazing artist.

my dear friends brought me purple roses!

my friend came by the show with his son!

sooOOOOOoooo cute!!! awwww!!!

here is my friends with their beautiful daughter.

Thank you so much, everyone!! It was great fun :D!!

The gallery opens every Sundays noon - 3pm until May 17th. If you wish to visit any other day, you need to make an appointment.

photos by kuma

Exhibition "POISON" 4/5/09-5/17/09

2009-04-05T00:21:00.003-04:00

aica "Ambivalent of Happiness" acrylic on canvas

This piece has been selected for the exhibition!

"POISON"
April 5 - May 17 2009
Curious Matter
272 Fifth Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302
tel 201-659-5771

Opening reception: April 5th 3:00 to 6:00 pm

If you happen to be in the area, please stop by and enjoy the show. I hope to see you at the opening!

Below are directions by PATH and car from NYC.

PATH Directions from NYC: Take the Newark/Journal Square bound PATH train from 33rd, 23rd, 14th or 9th Streets (all at 6th Ave.) or from Christopher Street or WTC. (note: on weekends the train stops in Hoboken before continuing to Jersey City.) Get off at GROVE STREET station. Exit and walk West on Newark Ave. When you reach Jersey Ave. make a right and continue to 5th Street. The gallery is to the left at 272 Fifth Street.

Driving from Manhattan: Take the Holland Tunnel. When you exit the tunnel make a left onto Marin Blvd. Then turn right onto 6th Street, then left onto Coles Street, and left onto 5th Street. It's just a few minutes out of the tunnel.

Regular gallery hours are Sundays noon to 3pm and by appointment.

Reminder: Opening Reception this Sunday "POISON"

2009-04-04T05:11:00.004-04:00

Just a quick reminder to everyone in the New Jersey area that I’ll be having an opening reception with other amazing artists on this Sunday, April 5 @ Curious Matter.

Here is the map.

smile :D

@ Curious Matter

2009-03-31T00:34:00.022-04:00

For the "POISON" art show, I went to drop off my artwork at the Curious Matter gallery last weekend. It's in Jersey City, I don't usually go to New Jersey. A week before last weekend, friends of mine invited me to join their dinner in Jersey City, AND this weekend will be the opening reception of "POISON". Somehow I visit New Jersey every weekend now :D!
It's a nice place to live, and really not far from Manhattan. It takes about 10 minutes to get there by a Path train :) You need to walk a little bit from the Grove station to Curious Matter.

When you see this street sign,

Curious Matter is just right around the corner.
(oh wait, last weekend i needed to get off at Provian/Newport station which is one stop before Grove station, maybe you won't see this sign...)

yeah, it'll say "open" this weekend :)

hmm! how cute!!

I really love the atmosphere! My artwork will be a great fit to the place!
A beautiful cat lives there, too! I love anyone who loves cats =^_^= meow.

Hope you can make it to the opening on April 5th (3-6pm).
You can read the show's description and details here.

Sketchbook Project Tour 2009 in NYC

2009-03-13T23:57:00.017-04:00

Sketchbook Project Tour came to NYC :D!

here is the 3rd Ward in Brooklyn.

so packed!

wow... 2,785 sketchbooks from the U.S. and 44 other countries !!

wooo! i wish i can see all of them!!

and yes! i found mine :)

ah! someone just took mine! キャピ！

ぁ、あの、ご感想を…お聞かせ願えますか… ^_^ ゥフフ。

ta-da! i finally meet you again!

how have you been doing?

i missed you...

but... 旅はまだ続くそうだから

take care!! hope you will meet a lovely friend!

お元気で…。

photos by kuma

Sketchbook Project Tour 2009

2009-02-27T10:04:00.016-05:00

I always wanted to make a picture book, so here is my book!

“Flower of Cat and Fish”

Art Houseが主催している「ロックツアーのような
グループショー、主役はスケッチブック！」
という、面白そうなプロジェクトに参加しています。

小さなスケッチブックを素朴な絵本に。

今日から私の絵本も沢山のスケッチブック達と
一緒に全米６都市のギャラリーや美術館を夏頃まで廻るそう。

いってらっしゃ〜い。

The Sketchbook Project Volume 3

“We send you the sketchbook, you make the art. Then Art House is taking all the sketchbooks on a 6 city tour to galleries and museums across the U.S. The goal of the exhibition is to encourage anyone to create artwork and build a collective of sketchbooks made by artists from all over the world…”
-Art House Co-op

If you would like to see the sketchbook in person along with over 1000 of other amazing sketchbooks this is the list of cities the Sketchbook Volume 3 tour.

Sketchbook Project Tour 2009

Atlanta, GA
February 27, 2009 - 7:00 - 10:00pm
Art House Gallery
309 Peters St Atlanta, GA 30313

Washington, DC
March 3, 2009 - 7:00 - 10:00pm
Museum of Contemporary Art DC
1054 31st St NW #9 Washington, DC 20007

Philadelphia, PA
March 4, 2009
Chris' Jazz Cafe
1421 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA 19102

Boston, MA
March 6, 2009 - 5:30 - TBD
Laconia Gallery
433 Harrison Ave Boston, MA 2118

Chicago, IL
March 8, 2009
Antena Gallery
1765 S. Laflin Chicago, IL 60608

Louis, MO
March 11, 2009 - 6:30 - 10:00pm St.
Soulard Art Market
2028 S. 12th Street St. Louis, MO 63104

Brooklyn, NY
March 13, 2009 - 7:00 - 10:00pm
3rd Ward
195 Morgan Ave Brooklyn, NY 11237
(I'll be there ^_^)

Atlanta, GA
April 2, 2009
Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)
285 Peachtree Center Ave Atlanta, GA 30303

Chicago, IL
mid May - Mid June
Chicago Art Source Gallery
1871 N. Clybourn Ave Chicago, IL 60614

My page on Art House is here.

For more information please click here to visit Art House website.

Great news!!

2009-02-05T12:58:00.026-05:00

I and Hiroshi Kumatani, a filmmaker in New York, won an Editor’s Choice Award from the STUDIO VOICE magazine, which is one of well known arts and culture magazines in Japan, in the music promotion video category of Bajune Tobeta’s “Asian Flower feat. Ryuichi Sakamoto.” I did character design on this. Please take a look when you have little down time. It’s only 30 sec long. (Please click “watch in HD” button down right in the YouTube video.)

It’s all in Japanese, but the behind the scene video of judges reviewing finalist videos is also available. Our work is appears around 1 min point.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://eyevio.jp/movie/225976"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img src="http://eyevio.jp/file/225976/w1" /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

↑ 嬉しい感想 ^_^　

Up to now

2009-02-02T02:22:00.005-05:00

02/02/09: I created a silent picture book titled "Flower of Cat and Fish" for a BIG group show called "The Sketchbook Project Volume 3" presented by Art House. Like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks :)! Art House is taking all the sketchbooks on a 6 city tour to galleries and museums across the U.S. from Feb 27, 2009. Here is a sneak preview of my book on the Art House website, where you can also check the schedule of the exhibit.

01/02/09: I've added new work to the PAINTINGS section and the ILLUSTRATION section. Please check them out and if you have any further questions or comments, don’t hesitate to contact me at info at atelieraica dot com.

01/01/09: Wishing you a wonderful New Year 2009!

12/14/08: Here is my Seasons Greetings to you from aica =^_^= !

12/10/08: The Korea Times fixed my artist name on the web version... YAY!! this time they wrote my name in English!

12/10/08: My article on the MLoveizm is online!

11/30/08: I've added a PRESS section on this news page underneath the EXHIBTIONS AND EVENTS section. There you can find links to media or scanned articles that have covered aica.

11/30/08: The Korea Times New Paper featured the annual international exhibition titled "The Chorus Project 2008" which I'm part of. It is written in Korean(i wish i can read it..), but you can see our group photo.

11/18/08: I'm pleased to announce that my painting has been selected for the annual international exhibition titled "The Chorus Project" cooperated with legations abroad and Hun Gallery. (The exhibition is currently running at the Korean Embassy in washington D.C..) The New York exhibition will be held at Hun Gallery from November 21st to December 4th. the opening reception will be from 6 to 8PM on this Friday, November 21st. If you can make it to the opening, please do stop by and say hello ^_^!

New York Opening Reception:
Friday November 21st 2008 | 6pm - 8pm
Works on view until Thurs., Dec. 4th, 2008

Location:
Hun Gallery in New York
12 W 32nd St., 3 Fl., New York, NY 10011
(Between Broadway and 5th Ave. Subway: B/D/F/N/Q/R/V/W 34th)
Official page link

11/04/08: aica's newest piece, "Pinky Promise" is sold at the art gotham gallery.

10/31/08: I'm happy to inform you that I am going to be in a group show titled "The Chorus Project"in Washington D.C. and New York.

Washington D.C.
Opening Reception: Friday November 7th 2008 | 6pm - 8pm
Works on view until Thurs., Nov. 20th, 2008 at Korus House in Washington D.C.

New York
Opening Reception: Friday November 21st 2008 | 6pm - 8pm
Works on view until Thurs., Dec. 4th, 2008 at Hun Gallery in New York

I hope you can make it to the openings! Click here to find out more about the show.

10/29/08: babysusu now has an online shop where you can buy cat series limited edition tees that I designed with babysusu. They are 100% cotton long sleeve shirts and made in USA. plus, babysusu is offering a 25% discount on the collection, please use the coupon code “susu25″.

10/25/08: Sorry for the last minute notice, but today is the opening reception of the group show “ELECTION 2008”, which I'm part of, at Art Gotham gallery in New York. The reception opens at 3pm until 8pm at 192 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue between Spring and Prince) in Soho. I hope to see you at the opening!

10/20/08: I'm in a process of relocating my studio. I'll let you know as soon as my new studio is open.

09/23/08: Cookie magazine is featuring the t-shirt that I designed with babysusu. (Lipstick Jungle star Kim Raver’s son wears the tee. )

07/27/08: I just finished setting up my new studio in lower manhattan! Now I have a view of statue of liberty from my windows! Studio visits are welcome! please contact me ^_^!! New address is in the contact page.

07/04/08: I designed a few t-shirts for babysusu for fall 2008 collection. The babysusu collection has a lux feel and a playful appeal fashionable yet functional pieces. You can see this illustration on the actual t-shirt, when you click "collection fall 2008" link on babysusu website.

06/11/08: I'm featured on the JUXTAPOZ art & culture magazine site as an emerging artist! please check it out.

05/05/08: atelieraica.com is launched. Welcome! I'm happy that you found your way here!