For the last 2 decades, Takeshita has been active and acclaimed in Australia, France, Spain, China and India as a calligraphic artist.

NJ (Nakamura Japan) will present the first major exhibition in the U.S. of the work of Ms. Suiko Takeshita, April 3 to 7. There will be an opening Kanji Performance by Suiko Takeshita on Thursday, April 2nd from 6 to 8PM.

For the last 2 decades, Takeshita has been active and acclaimed in Australia, France, Spain, China and India as a calligraphic artist. She is especially known for her wide knowledge of different styles and traditions of kanji, the characters used in the Japanese logographic writing system. This gives her work a unique energy and freedom of form.

Calligraphy is a pictorial language, each word a shimmering and tactile hieroglyph with many layers of meaning. Sakishima's work exemplifies the Japanese word kotodama, the essential spirits which are present in words. Japanese people believe that words have a mysterious power, and if you use the right words every day, they will transform your life. Contemplating great works of calligraphy opens the mind and communicates a universal vision, and living with such works every day in your personal space is a path to true happiness.

Vision of Space

The theme of the exhibition is Vision of Space. Each of Sakishima's calligraphic works is a beautiful interpretation of words, archetypes and concepts related to space, time, mind and the universe. By mixing different forms of kanji, symbolic shapes and Western symbols, the works keep us off balance, moving between cultural dimensions, evoking the music of the spheres. The gestural drama of black ink on white paper generates its own depth and sense of color.

Suiko Takeshita has been training and practicing the art of calligraphy for over 40 years. Her exhibitions have been acclaimed in Japan, Australia, France, Spain, China and India.

Takeshita is particularly known as an artist of “Hentai Kana”. Hentai Kana is a traditional version of the Japanese phonetic alphabet system, descended and modified from Kanji, the pictographic writing system. But she has also researched and practiced all kinds of Kanji fonts from classical to contemporary calligraphies. Her work is also based on a wide and deep study of traditional Asian culture, including classical Japanese poems (Waka) and Chinese poetry (Kanshi). The result is an unusual freedom of calligraphic style and gesture in her work, which gives it a unique freshness and energy, merged with a classic depth and integrity of feeling.

In her work and life, she combines the search for truth and expression in art with the same journey in search of spiritual enlightenment (Satori). She has practiced asceticism with Zen meditation, working in nature and even standing under waterfalls to focus to her mind and deepen her approach to painting. This spiritual journey is reflected in the spiritual power of her work.

This exhibition’s theme is “Vision of Space”. It deals with ideas and concepts from the planets and solar system to time and the infinite. It combines traditional and contemporary calligraphic forms with symbols from Western astronomy and alchemy. It’s a subject as big as the universe, and Takeshita’s spare but powerful images fulfill that promise.