loader
Hiroko Otake

HIROKO OTAKE PORTFOLIO

BIOGRAPHY

現代日本画家 大竹寛子

Education

Tokyo University of the Arts
Major:Japanese Painting (Japanese-style Painting/Nihonga)
Graduation Date: March 2006
Master's course :2009
Doctor's degree :2011

Awards

  • 2014、The Emerald Grant Award (Tokyo National University of the Arts)
  • 2013,2012,2010,2009,2008 Soga win a prize
  • 2009, The 19th scholarship Award (Sato International Cultural Scholarship Foundation)

Hiroko Otake : Contemporary Nihonga Artist

The theme of my artwork is “the constancy found within fluid moments.” I see myself as ever-changing, like a dynamic equilibrium – it is this constant flux that allows me to remain true to my current self.

The seasons — spring, summer, autumn, and winter — are consistent in their cycle, yet never identical to the year before. Through my work, I explore the idea that truth resides in the interplay where fluidity and constancy coexist, much like the relationship between Atman and Brahman.

My motifs of butterflies and flowers symbolize the fleeting nature of the present moment. A butterfly undergoes complete metamorphosis, transforming from a larva to a pupa, and finally emerging as a butterfly — each stage entirely different from the last. Similarly, I find a sense of transience, resilience, and beauty in nature’s processes, where buds blossom into flowers, eventually wither, and create seeds for the future.

I believe embracing the fluid and transient as they are, discovering their essence in nature, and striving to live in harmony with nature are integral aspects of the Japanese identity. My work aspires to reinterpret this aesthetic sensibility by transcending traditional categories like Nihonga (Japanese-style painting) and embracing the coexistence of diverse elements: cultures, parts and wholes, history and modernity. Through this, I aim to create art that reflects the beauty of coexistence within transformation.

Collaboration Project

2019
Kimono:Obi Project, Collaboration with SILKLAB
2018
Tobirae Project, Collaboration with Antbb Electronics & Hospitalities, Tokyo
Renovation Industry Forum, collaboration with Art Life Association, Tokyo
Adore Spring Summer Collection, Collaboration with Adore, Tokyo
2017
Art Project Hiroko Otake with BoConcept Squilla Living Chair 150th Anniversary of Japan and Denmark Diplomatic establishment, Tokyo
Hills Night 2017 with L’atelier do Joel Robuchon, Tokyo
Mikimoto Pearl Necklace, collaboration with Mikimoto, Tokyo
Book cover“Queen”Mikihiko Renjo
2016
MoMA Design Store Tea ceremony, with Souryo Matsumura, Sony, NYC
2014
Lawry’s Tokyo Entrance Art work, for Lawry’s Prime Rib Stake, Tokyo
2012
Artist in Hotel -Cherry blossoms room-, for Park Hotel Tokyo
2009
Book cover“今、ここからすべての場所へ”Kenichiro Mogi
Book cover“化蝶散華”Genku Sokyu
Book cover“For Life,”Clinician Medical Magazine, July Issue
Solo Exhibitions
2024
「Flow and Movement /&T DESIGNART TOKYO 2024」Spiral, Tokyo
「Hiroko Otake Solo exhibition-Hideaway-」Ginza, Tokyo
「REFLECTION」Hiroko Otake Solo Exhibition Gallery10 [TOH]
2022
「Invisible things」TSUTAYA GINZA, GNZA SIX, Tokyo
「Hiroko Otake Solo exhibition」Mitsukoshi Ginza, Tokyo
2020
Victory Bouquet, Sato Museum, Tokyo
2019
Metamorphosis, Courtyard Hiroo, Tokyo
The passing, Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Hankyu, Osaka, Tenmaya, Okayama
2018
Secret Garden, Scéne, Tokyo
Fleurs et Papillons, Shibuya SEIBU, Tokyo
New Year Live Painting, Shibuya SEIBU, Tokyo
2017
Psyche Butterfly - Symbol of Life Seibu Ikebukuro Art Gallery,Tokyo
Feel of 4 Seasons, Mitsukoshi art gallery Nagoya, Osaka
2016
Psyche Butterfly - Symbol of Life, Tenri Gallery, NYC
2015
Psyche Butterfly - Symbol of Life, Seibu Ikebukuro Art Gallery, Tokyo
2014
Floating Instant, Art Fair Tokyo 2014 Tokyo International Forum
2013
Landscape where is not here, Art Gallery Minazuki, Gifu, Japan
2012
6 colors, Art Fair Tokyo 2012 Tokyo International Forum
2010
Focus-Up Coming Artist- Solo exhibition L’Espoir 2010, Surugadai Gallery, Tokyo
2009
bud, Art Gallery Minazuki, Gifu, Japan
Exhibitions
2024
「WHAT CAFE EXHIBITION vol.38:Gigs and Hobbies: The Everyday in Art Practice」
2023
「Modern times scatology」ISETAN Shinjyuku, Tokyo
2022
「Invisible things」TSUTAYA GINZA, GINZA SIX, Tokyo
2021
「ART FAIR SELECTION」Shibuya SEIBU, Tokyo
「'ARTFUL LIVING PROJECT' BERGDORF GOODMAN × WATERFALL」BERGDORF GOODMAN, New York
「NOUVEL HORIZON JAPON」Paris, Galerie Tamenaga
2020
「Consider butterflies」Waterfall & Mansion Gallery, New York
2019
Assorted Chocolate, ANA Intercontinental Hotel Tokyo
2018
Art fair Tokyo 2018 Art meets Life by Sogo Seibu, Tokyo International Forum
Unsound Presents Live painting, Super Deluxe, Tokyo
Beta Night Live painting, 20 Alpha, Hong Kong
Artful Living, Bergdorf Goodman, NYC
Mediacosmos Spring Art Fair 2018, Gifu, Japan
2017
A Sustaining Life, Bergdorf Goodman, NYC
Hills Night 2017 with L’atelier do Joel Robution, Grand Hyatt Tokyo
Mikimoto Pearl Necklace show, Mikimoto Ginza, Tokyo
New Book, Waterfall Mansion & Gallery, NYC
2016
Sado – The Art of Tea Ceremony, Makari NYC
Summer Celebration, Waterfall Mansion & Gallery, NYC
Sado – The Art of Tea Ceremony, Makari NYC
2015
Hiroko Otake & Paola Masi Affinities, Ambit Gallery Barcelona, Spain
2014
Japanese Flowers Iam Gallery, NYC
2013
Megumi Ogita Gallery, Gallery Artist Group Show, Tokyo
Zig Zag Harmonica Books, Stuttgart, Germany
New City Art Fair 2013 Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
Art Tea Ceremony, Park Hotel Tokyo
2012
Hiroko Otake & Paola Masi Affinities, Megumi Ogita Gallery, Tokyo
2011
Art Nagoya 2011, The Westin Nagoya Castle Hotel, Nagoya, Japan
Art for Tomorrow East Japan earthquake charity exhibition Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo, Japan
Mitsukoshi × Tokyo University of the Arts, Nihonbashi-Mitsukoshi, Tokyo