In this ep, I sit down with acclaimed, New York-based artist Makoto Fujimura. Makoto is a fascinating man: someone who’s perfectly balanced the “border stalking” (his words) nature of artists with a deep and abiding faith. We talk about how to mends trauma and end cultural divides, the nature of God, and the role of artists as healers and integrators.
Makoto Fujimura is a leading contemporary artist whose process-driven, refractive “slow art” has been described by David Brooks of New York Times as “a small rebellion against the quickening of time”. Robert Kushner, in the mid 90’s, spoke of Fujimura’s art this way: “The idea of forging a new kind of art, about hope, healing, redemption, refuge, while maintaining visual sophistication and intellectual integrity is a growing movement, one which finds Makoto Fujimura’s work at the vanguard.”
Fujimura’s art is collected and featured widely in galleries and museums around the world, including The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The Huntington Library, the Tikotin Museum in Israel, Dillon Gallery and Waterfall Mansion in New York, Sato Museum in Tokyo, The Tokyo National University of Fine Arts Museum, Bentley Gallery in Arizona, Gallery Exit and Oxford House at Taikoo Place in Hong Kong, Vienna’s Belvedere Museum, and Shusaku Endo Museum in Nagasaki. He is one of the first artists to paint live on stage at New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall as part of an ongoing collaboration with composer and percussionist, Susie Ibarra.
Fujimura is also an arts advocate, writer, and speaker who is recognized worldwide as a cultural influencer. A Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts from 2003-2009, Fujimura served as an international advocate for the arts, speaking with decision makers and advising governmental policies on the arts. His books have won numerous awards, including the Aldersgate Prize for “Silence and Beauty”. Fujimura’s highly anticipated book Art+Faith: A Theology of Making (Yale Press, with foreword by N.T. Wright, 2021) has been described by poet Christian Wiman as “a real tonic for our atomized time”.
Connect with Makoto:
Website: https://makotofujimura.com/
Twitter
Instagram
Youtube
Latest book: Art + Faith: A Theology of Making
Kintusgi Academy Instagram Page
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