Today we have the pleasure of speaking with New York artist Takashi Harada. You can find more of his work on his website.

What’s your background?

I am Japanese and considered myself as a Nihonga (Japanese Style Painting) artist. I earned my MFA in Nihonga from Tokyo University of the Arts a long time ago. I was born and raised in a porcelain making family in a small town called Arita where Japan’s first porcelain was made over 400 years ago. I was supposed to take over the family’s Kiln but I pursued to be a painter instead. Since graduation, I have stayed in Germany, France, Canada, and then the US. I first landed in Hawai’i, then moved to San Diego, and came to New York in 2007.

Why do you do what you do?

Because I love and this is the only way I can be myself.

What themes do you pursue?

I am always fascinated by memories; people’s memories. So that is my main theme. I am seeking to establish a sort of a stage for viewers to engage their own pleasant memories through my artworks.

I have always been very interested in how people think back on the events that occur in their lives, and the way that both the clarity and cloudiness of memories plays a role. For some, their clearest memories manifest as pictures, and yet for others, smell, sound, or even taste can play a similar role. The five senses associate themselves to memory differently for each person. I myself am a highly visual person and am fascinated with how people recognize and then remember shapes and forms from their life.

For example, why, when viewed behind highly frosted or even warped glass, can certain people almost instantly recognize someone who is close to them? Why, even without all the subtle details, is there not even an ounce of doubt in the viewer about their ability to identify the form?

When, in the course of their lives, humans accumulate information to remember certain objects, do they only save the necessary elements and hold on to a partial image? Or, when in the process of recalling events or images from the packed recesses of their memory, do they simply sift through the collected material and pull out only the relevant parts? I spend a lot of time ruminating on these sorts of questions.

Also, I believe that all natural things, including human beings, have a sort of common structure, and that each of them exist having the equal value at the level of molecules or atoms. I also believe that when humans immerse ourselves in the natural world, our information as life recorded in our genes becomes one with the natural world, and their common structure connects us to each other as tiny individual atoms in the natural world. I wish to create artworks that can evoke such a feeling.

What does your work aim to say?

It’s just simple, actually, a world peace. I seriously aim to achieve world peace through my artworks. I am not sure if it is possible also I know this is very naïve to think about, but I still believe it is possible. My focus is to provide people the way to feel calm, serene moments, through my artwork and that feeling, I believe, will make people to set back from current serious issues they have to contemplate, and make a good choice, better solution, and be kind, remember to trust each other.

Who are your biggest influences?

Hasegawa Tōhaku, Mark Rothko, Gerhard Richter

How have you developed your career?

I just didn’t quit. Always create something even when I can’t make any physically but in my head.

How do you seek out opportunities?

Try to get involved in local art communities. Also look for any information online as well.

Why art?

Creating art is the most fundamental act to do as a human being, I believe.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Don’t stop. Don’t jump off from the art train. We artists are all on the fast running art train. Once you decide to jump off from it, you’ll never be able to come back.

It was from one of my artist friends in San Diego. I do not think she was actually giving me any advice, but these words helped me so much.

Has literature impacted your art making?

Yes. When I was a kid, I read many books and imagined about nature, other countries and historical events of the world. It was a very pleasant time and actually those images and memories from that time have a very important role and my current artworks. More recently, I sometimes look for some poems in order to interact deeply with images in my mind.

How important are libraries to you as an artist?

Libraries are always a gateway to the world for me. Of course, the internet is very handy nowadays, but I enjoy an accidental discovery which leads me to expand my knowledge in unexpected ways and that only happens in the libraries. Not only the books, I can access movies, music, documentary films, etc. I can connect other artforms on a daily basis and more importantly there are great historical documents. That is fabulous! I hope the current situation will be get better as soon as possible and we all can enjoy again the library in person.

Have the recent events had an impact on your art practice?

No and yes. In a physical way, not much. They did not make me change most of my lifestyle actually, since I mainly work in the studio in my apartment so I do not need to commute. It means I could work on my art every day during “New York on Pause.&lrdquo; On the other hand, mentally, probably yes. However, I met so many good people through SNS during this situation and that gave me a feeling to trust other people. It keeps me awake and helped me be sane to be able to create more artworks.