National Council on the Arts Members

Makoto Fujimura (New York, NY)

Makoto Fujimura is a painter whose work explores a combination of contemporary American abstract expressionism and traditional Japanese art of Nihonga. Born in Boston and educated both in the United States and Japan, Fujimura creates semi-abstract paintings and installations bridging medieval methods and aesthetics with contemporary expression. In 1990, he founded the International Arts Movement and co-hosted a conference in 1992 titled "The Return to Beauty." His recent work can be seen at the Bellas Artes Gallery in Santa Fe, as well as Dillon Gallery in Oyster Bay, NY, and Kristen Frederickson Contemporary Art in New York City. His work is included in the collections of the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, and the Time Warner/AOL/CNN building in Hong Kong. Mr. Fujimura graduated from Bucknell University and received an M.F.A. and a doctorate degree from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Noted artist and critic Robert Kushner has written, "The idea of forging a new kind of art, about hope, healing, redemption, refuge, while maintaining visual sophistication and intellectual integrity is a growing movement, one which finds Fujimura's work at the vanguard."

National Endowment for the Arts
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