Discover art from leading modern Japanese artists. Our collection is ever-evolving with exciting new art, ranging from prints to paintings to sculptures, to much more. Whether you’re looking for something new, vibrant and abstract, or you’re after a more refined, classical and figurative piece, our collection of work from Japanese artists has been expertly curated for you to find the perfect new piece to purchase for your home.
Throughout its long and enduring history, Japanese art has remained unique in its unparalleled ability to tell stories and its strong aesthetic identity. Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa is one of the most famous Japanese artworks in the world and woodblock prints remain quintessentially Japanese, often depicting scenes of nature interspersed with scenes of Japanese daily life.
Today, modern Japanese artists are creating pieces that are as lively and exciting as ever. Led by the likes of Yayoi Kusama and Takashi Murakami, contemporary Japanese artists are pioneering some of the most ground-breaking and thought-provoking art of recent times. From Kusma’s iconic dot paintings and worldwide installations to Murakami’s ‘superflat’ art movement, contemporary Japanese artists have shown work everywhere, from the walls of Tate Modern to Louis Vuitton handbags and Kanye West’s album cover.
Superflat art emerged from Murakami’s 2001 exhibition, Superflat. Exploring all aspects of Japanese culture, from traditional painting to anime, from highbrow to lowbrow, the name ‘superflat’ draws from the flatness of art and the emptiness of consumer culture. Takashi’s style has pioneered one of the most famous and recognisable postmodern art movements of recent times. In the last twenty years, the playful appearance and cartoon motifs that characterise superflat art have been adopted by artists worldwide.
With his label, Kaikai Kiki, Takashi has signed and collaborated with emerging Japanese artists, such as Chiho Aoshima. Chiho incorporates Pop Art into her work to create colourful and supernatural scenes. Typical of a superflat artist, Chiho combines dark and disturbing themes, symbols and imagery with child-like characters to give her prints a depth of narrative.
Showing another approach to contemporary Japanese art is Hiroshi Sato. Unlike the dynamic nature of superflat art, Hiroshi focuses on portraying still and peaceful scenes by depicting solitary figures and their relationship to their environments. Reminiscent to Cezanne and various Impressionist painters, Hiroshi creates figurative paintings with obvious brushstrokes that at times resembles block-like marks. Demonstrating an extreme sensibility to light and shadow, Hiroshi’s paintings are atmospheric reflections of the everyday.