Aya Takano (Japanese, born )

Aya Takano (Japanese, b.1976) is a member of the Japanese Superflat movement. Born in Saitama, Japan, Takano spent most of her childhood reading science fiction books and magazines in her father's library. Fascinated by the exotic animals and landforms, Takano turned them into the themes of her futuristic artworks. Osamu Tezuka’s (Japanese, 1928–1989) sci-fi manga (Japanese comics and cartoons) also had a lasting impact on Takano’s dreamy perceptions of the world. She once stated that sometimes, even as an adult, she imagines possessing the ability to fly. These early influences are clearly represented in Looking To The Earth From Moon (2006), in which she placed exotic animals and plants—as well as her nude heroines, with their iconic, slim bodies, bulbous heads, and large eyes—floating freely around the earth. In 2000, soon after Takano graduated from Tama Art University in Tokyo, she became an assistant for Takashi Murakami (Japanese, b.1962)—the leading figure in the Superflat movement—who became her mentor and helped to launch her career. Under Murakami’s encouragement, Takano started working on canvas for the first time, and became a member of his art production company, Kaikai Kiki LLC. Later in the same year, her works were featured in Murakami’s group exhibition Superflat, which was to be followed by more group and solo exhibitions worldwide in the coming years. Soon, Takano became known for her paintings of wide-eyed androgynous figures that combine a contemporary stylization known as kawaii (“cuteness” in the context of Japanese culture), with references to ancient woodprints from the Edo period. Her precision with lines, unique use of color, and ability to work quickly has led to comparisons with Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849), the painter and printmaker whose work The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c.1830) is one of the most iconic Japanese artworks of the 18th century. Takano lives and works in Japan, where she is also known as a manga artist, illustrator, and science fiction essayist.

Timeline

1976
Born in Saitama, Japan
Lives and works in Japan

Exhibitions

2012
To Lose Is To Gain, Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France (solo)
Heaven Is Inside Of You, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong (solo)
2011
"Stars, flowers and honeynight", SieboldHuis, Leiden, Netherlands (solo)
2010
Hong Kong Art Fair, Booth Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Hong Kong (solo)
"Aya Takano", Museum Frieder Burda, Baden Baden, Germany (solo)
"The Universe Portal", Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan (solo)
2009
"Reintagrating Worlds", Skarstedt Gallery, New York USA (solo)
2008
Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris (solo)
2007
Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Miami (solo)
The Door to Summer, Art Tower Mito, Mito, Japan
2006
Spank the Monkey, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK
Etoile, Xavel, Inc. (Virtual department store design)
Mizuho Oshiro Gallery, Kagoshima, Japan
Aya Takano, Musée de l'Art Contemporain, Lyon, France (solo)
City Dog, Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Parco Gallery, Nagoya (solo)
2005
Frieze Art Fair, London (solo)
The Far Reaches of The Universe, My Garden, Blum & Poe Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (solo)
Aoi Gallery, Osaka, Japan
Japan Pop, Helsinki Museum of Art, Helsinki, Finland
The Sensual Line, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture, Japan Society, New York, NY (curated by Takashi Murakami)
MTA Subway Poster Design, Public Art Fund and Japan Society, New York, NY
What's Good Conference, Hong Kong Art Centre, Hong Kong (Lecture)
Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris
2004
Aya Takano, a web project for Digital Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA (solo)
Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake, 2004-5 Autumn Winter Collection, Paris, Tokyo (collaboration) (solo)
T-Junction, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris
Fiction. Love: Ultra New Vision in Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan
Chiho Aoshima, Mr., Aya Takano, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin at LFL Gallery, New York, NY
Tokyo Girls Bravo, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY
2003
Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris (solo)
Girls Don't Cry, Parco Gallery, Tokyo
Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake, Tokyo (collaboration)
Hope--The Future is in Our Hands, LaForet Harajuku, Tokyo
2002
Space Ship EE, nanogalerie, Paris (solo)
The Japanese Experience: Inevitable, Das Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
Tokyo Girls Bravo 2, NADiff, Tokyo
Chiho Aoshima, Aya Takano, Mr., Takashi Murakami, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris
2001
Superflat, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
Hiropon Show, White Cube Gallery, London, UK; Shinsaibashi Parco, Osaka, Japan
Yokai Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
2000
Hot Banana Fudge, NADiff, Tokyo (solo)
Superflat, Parco Gallery, Tokyo (curated by Takashi Murakami)
1999
Tokyo Girls Bravo, NADiff, Tokyo; Parco Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
Hiropon Show, Parco Gallery, Nagoya
Hiropon 32/80, NADiff, Tokyo
1998
Ero Pop Christmas, NADiff, Tokyo
Hiropon Show, George's, Los Angeles, CA
1997
Hiropon Show, shop33, Tokyo; Iwataya Z-side, Fukuoka, Japan
Hiropon Show, Manken Gallery, Kanazawa, Japan
SHU WA KIMASERI, shop33, Tokyo (solo)