Nakajima Hiroyuki (中嶋宏行, born February 17, 1956) is a contemporary Japanese artist and

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

from Chiba, Japan. He is best known for his modern interpretation of

Japanese calligraphy , also called , is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Japanese writing system, Written Japanese was originally based on Man'yōgana, Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japane ...

(shodo) which he calls Sho art, a technique which combines the traditional elements of Japanese calligraphy (''shodo'') with the movements of

tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

and inspired by the symbols of

zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

and nature. Nakajima currently has studios in Chiba, Japan and Milan, Italy.

Biography

Nakajima was born in Chiba, Japan. He began his training in shodo at the age of 6 and would continue his studies through his post-graduate years at

Chiba University is a national university in the city of Chiba, Chiba, Chiba, Japan. It offers doctoral degrees in education as part of a coalition with Tokyo Gakugei University, Saitama University, and Yokohama National University. The university was formed in ...

where he received a degree in Achitectonics (Industrial Engineering). While in his twenties, Nakajima began training in tai chi. By the time Nakajima was in his thirties, he had already started to develop his own style of contemporary Japanese calligraphy, and became a professional artist. Nakajima exhibited his work for the first time in 2000 at a private exhibition in Rome. The pieces selected for this exhibition consisted mostly of Japanese calligraphy that were recognized as abstract art which depicted Japanese characters as their theme. Shortly after his exhibition in Rome, Nakajima introduced the movements of tai chi into his art, intending to demonstrate the process of creating the art by means of a performance. Most of his performances begin with Nakajima standing in a meditative state over a blank canvas, and then when inspired uses one sharp stroke of the brush to create the abstract form of nature: moon, soil, mountain. Nakajima has explained that the one stroke of a brush is carried out with a single, condensed thought to bring about the forms and lines of a moment in time. Nakajima has said, "Every work of 'Sho' is created in one continuous motion, and therefore cannot be repeated or re-written. The power of 'Sho' lies in this feature of non-recurrence. Even if you draw the same letter ten times, ten different forms will arise spontaneously." Since then, Nakajima has held exhibitions and live performances throughout Europe, Japan and the United States. In 2006 he was invited to participate in the 60th

Festival d'Avignon The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival (), is an annual arts festival held in the France, French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by ...

in France, and in the 2006 Art Basel Miami Beach Show (the American sister event of

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, an ...

in Switzerland), where he debuted in the United States. Nakajima currently has studios in Chiba, Japan and in Milan, Italy.

Exhibitions

Performances

Media and publications

References

External links

Official Nakajima Hiroyuki Sho Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiroyuki, Nakajima 1956 births Living people 21st-century Japanese calligraphers Japanese contemporary artists