Ichiko Takada
Sho (Japanese calligraphy)artist
She started learning Shodo, the Japanese calligraphy at the age of 6. After graduating from high school in Tokyo, she moved to New York and graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1992 with a BFA in Fashion Design.
She began her career as assistant designer for a fashion design office in New York, and later worked as freelance designer. In 1996, she returned to Tokyo and studied shodo(Japanese calligraphy)under the great master calligrapher Shunkei Yahagi and Tenkoku(seal engraving)under the master Ryuzan Yoshinaga. She earned the title of grand master in calligraphy. Since then, she has been creating art pieces and designs as Sho(Japanese calligraphy) artist.
In 2013, she took another step forward with the opening of the GALLERY KAI in Kichijoji, Tokyo. In recent years, she worked with flower artists and created new genre of art merging Japanese calligraphy and flower arrangement. Her installation works using shopping bags as canvas for calligraphy as well as for vases for flower arrangement have been well received. She is eager to dedicate herself to art, her lifework and passion, aiming at expressing all the power and possibilities that Japanese characters and words could offer.
Exhibition
| 2008 | Solo exhibition “Autumn Moon” (Gallery Kai, Tokyo) |
| 2010 | “Kissho Tenkoku Ten” (Gallery Kai,Tokyo) |
| 2011 | “Tenkoku of Mainichi shodo” (Tenkoku Museum, Ibaragi) |
| 2011 | “Kagura Sukibito Ten” (Kagura salon,Tokyo) |
| 2012 | ”Rakuciku-no kai” (Art Salon Mainichi , Tokyo) |
| 2013 | Solo exhibition “MOJI” (Nomura Fudosan Gallery, Tokyo) |
| 2014 | “The world of black and white Chinese ink painting” Rana Chalabi × Ichiko Takada by Nefer Gallery (GALLERY KAI, Tokyo） |
| 2014 | “Hana x Sho” collaborative exhibiton with flower artist Hideki Hatakeyama (GALLERY KAI, Tokyo) |
| 2014 | “Fusion” China , Japan & Russia international exhibition (Guangzhou Museum of Art annex in Dongguan, China) |
| 2015 | “ Wabara x Sho “ collaborative exhibition with Japanese roses and flower artist Hideki Hatakeyama (Métiers d’Art Sant Roch Ceret, France） |
| 2016 | “Movement Sho x Flower” collaborative exhibition with Flower artist Hideki Hatakeyama (Copis Kichijoji, Tokyo) | 2016 | Flower Art Award exhibition (Tokyo Midtown, Tokyo) |
| 2016 | International Contemporary art exhibition “Mutually Overlook”（YUN.Contemporary Art Center Shanghai, China） |
| 2016 | “Roses and Sho” collaborative exhibition with flower artist Hideki Hatakeyama (Honma Museum Art, Yamagata) |
| 2017 | “Shunkei Yahagi and her followers” (Matsuya Ginza, Tokyo) |
| 2018 | “Drops” (GALLERY KAI, Tokyo) |
Award
2011 The Mainichi Award (the grand prize) , Mainichi Calligraphy Exhibition
Collection
Tenkoku Museum, Yonehachi Group, Private collection
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