Yesterday, our artist Gakushi Yamamoto was interviewed in the gallery for Asian Art News.  Hitoshi was there to help with translation and he was impressed with the interviewer’s [Lucy Birmingham] style and he also learned a lot about Gakushi.

We know him as our magnificent artist, but we didn’t realize that he once wanted to be a professional basketball player.  Nor did we know that for four years, he tried to get into Tokyo University of Fine Arts–considered the top art university here-and could not, so he spent four years in a cram school trying to get in.  At last, he finally recognized that if he really wanted to be artist, the school did not matter so much-and after all–the famous, the best artists–they do not come from Tokyo University of Fine Arts.  He then went to Zokei which is where we found him–and where there are a lot of well-known artists.

He told the interviewer a couple of quotes that were particularly interesting.  First, he thinks iron is soft.  Second, he considers his work like a jigsaw puzzle-only 80 % complete.  The viewer can make up their ow story about the other 20%.

You can read the article Angela Jeffs wrote about Gakushi in the Japan Times here.

Anyway, we also know Lucy Birmingham for a long time–at least since we started the gallery–and she has been a great fan of our gallery and our art-so we were glad that she was the one selected by Asian Art News to be the interviewer.

I adore Asian Art News.  It is a labor of love for the publisher Ian Findlay-Brown who also does a lions-share of the writing, almost all the ad-selling and together with his wife, Fumi Koga, keeps this publication going.  If you ever go to the art fairs in the region, you will find Ian talking to people, selling magazines and ad space and enjoying himself.  He is a straight talker-and he knows everyone in the region and he has definite ideas about the art business and the artists he likes.  When he saw Gakushi Yamamoto’s work, he told me he wanted to put it on the cover of his sister publication, World Sculpture News, but now it looks like the story on Gakushi Yamamoto, together with some photos will appear in the May issue of Asian Art News.

If you want to receive a wonderful publication 6 times a month that will introduce you to exciting artists and galleries in the area, I highly recommend this publication. You can subscribe for just $60 US per year at www.asianartnews.com

I also want to recommend one publication you can get in Tokyo.  You can pick it up at Tsustaya in Roppongi Hills.  It is called Art-IT and covers Japan and the region.  It is also bilingual–written in Japanese and English so everyone can follow what is going on with Japanese artists and with artists in the region.  The coverage is mostly on Japan–we need it!-and China and India, but they do cover shows and artists in other regions as well.

I liked the current issue best.  It focuses on some of the best upcoming shows as well as some curators to watch.  I am not sure I would make the same choices, but I am glad to see choices being made and want to encourage you to pick this publication up. They have a terrific web-site, bilingual and you can subscribe and read some articles there as well. I like this quote from the publisher, Ozaki Tetsuya, in the current issue:

Give us art shows that intrigue and excite.

All publications–especially art publications–are suffering from a drop in ad sales due to the economic recession–and we all need the editorial information and reviews and introductions to the art market that these publications provide.  Pick up a copy of Art-IT or subscribe.  I think it is hard to find a copy of Asian Art News on the newsstand, but consider a subscription.  It is money well-spent.

Ask now what artists can do for you, ask what you can do for artists. I just thought of that–copying JFK of course. Many people say it is great that we are supporting young artists, but of course we need your help–in terms of buying their works–in order to do that. You also can support the art world by supporting the publications-that is, assuming you think there is some value in having art in the world.