Tsukasa Wakikawa

Artist Statement

Tsukasa Wakikawa’s work is rooted in the coexistence of Shinto and Buddhist perspectives—an outward reverence for nature alongside an inward reflection on life, death, and the human spirit. These ideas, absorbed through everyday Japanese life, form the foundation of Wakikawa’s approach to painting.

Nature, transformation, and the cycle of life are central themes. Imagining spirits, cells, circulating energy, and invisible forces within the natural world, Wakikawa creates paintings in which organic forms and structured grids interact. The grids may suggest cellular structures or, more broadly, individuals coming together to form society. While these structures can appear orderly, they also shift, fragment, decay, and regenerate.

Works such as Dragonfly—Awakening, Dragonfly—Embrace, The Forest of Celebration, and Leaves reflect an ongoing interest in renewal, interconnectedness, and the quiet forces that shape both nature and human experience.

In a world marked by environmental change, conflict, migration, and uncertainty, Wakikawa sees art as a space for contemplation and dialogue. The paintings invite viewers to pause and consider their relationship to nature, society, and their own inner lives.

Instagram: two513waki

Biography

Tsukasa Wakikawa is a Japanese painter and printmaker whose work is informed by the cultural and spiritual perspectives of Shinto and Buddhism. Based in Murakami, Niigata, Wakikawa developed an artistic practice centered on nature, transformation, interconnectedness, and the cycles of life.

Wakikawa received a BFA in Printmaking from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1979 and an MFA from the same institution in 1981. Following graduation, Wakikawa worked as a painter, instructor, designer, and educator in Murakami, Niigata. After resuming artistic practice in 1998, Wakikawa continued to develop a body of work combining painting with ideas rooted in nature, spirituality, memory, and lived experience.

Wakikawa has exhibited throughout Japan and internationally. Recent exhibitions include the 2025 Art Incubation New York Exhibition at Max Gallery in New York, as well as exhibitions in Niigata, Murakami, Tokyo, and Sekikawa Village.

Wakikawa has received multiple Artistic Merit Awards from the Luxembourg Art Prize and has been selected for international juried exhibitions, including the Kanagawa International Print Triennial and International Print Biennial in Yugoslavia. Earlier recognition includes the Yamamoto Kanae Print Award Exhibition Honorable Mention, Asian Youth Art Exhibition Honorable Mention, and the Ohashi Award from Tokyo University of the Arts.