TAKERU AMANO

Born in 1977, Takeru Amano came into the world with a pencil in his hand. In his family, drawing was part of everyday life, so much so that he never attended art school. What could a school have taught him that he did not already know? The artist we celebrate today was already there within him.

His world — singular and childlike — draws on the late twentieth-century Japanese culture he grew up in. Takeru Amano blends classical, philosophical and even mythological subjects with neo-pop aesthetics and, often, a touch of humour. That fusion of influences has earned him both popularity and recognition.

Picture a Venus holding a lemon, or the Virgin Mary sketched in vivid neon. Seeing these familiar Western icons through a Tokyo pop lens can be surprising, even surreal.

His work has been exhibited in Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, London, Paris and other cities in Japan and abroad, admired as a bridge between the painterly tradition and the modern age.