Collection: Shinichi Hara

Shinichi Hara began his career as a contemporary artist in 1985 when he held his first exhibition in Los Angeles, an artist whose work captured the attention of David Hockney. Following this, while continuing to create paintings, Hara also worked as an art director for 35 years, producing key visuals for music graphics that reached millions of copies across Japan and Asia. In 2009, he dedicated his life to his long-held dream of being an artist, expanding his artistic activities globally, with exhibitions in New York, Italy, Hong Kong, and beyond.

Hara's work is influenced by world art movements like Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimal Art, and Conceptual Art, as well as by Ukiyo-e and the Rinpa school in Japanese art history. Ukiyo-e is known for its woodblock prints that capture the fleeting beauty of the "floating world," while the Rinpa school is celebrated for its decorative, nature-inspired compositions. These influences helped Hara establish his unique style.

Hara's concept revolves around the animism energy within humanity, Earth, and the universe, juxtaposed with the minimal digital energy of "0 and 1" recently discovered by humankind. He explores the precarious balance between the analog (body and soul) and the digital (modern societal systems) in this mad world, expressing the dynamism of Japanese aesthetics through the energy of white. In his work, Hara uses the color white to convey all its meanings in Japanese culture—life, death, sacredness, and hope—depicting contrasts such as "soul and digital, individual and global systems, life and death, sacred and profane, nature and culture" through an Eastern spiritual lens.

ART EXHIBITIONS

2021 Art Fair TOKYO 2021(sho+1Gallery) ー Tokyo, JAPAN 

2020 Art Fair TOKYO 2021(sho+1Gallery) ー Tokyo, JAPAN 

2019 Art Fair TOKYO 2021(sho+1Gallery) ー Tokyo, JAPAN 

2017 Shinichi Hara Print Exhibition, Daimaru Matsuzakaya (across Japan)

2017 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, Artgloreux Gallery of Tokyo / GINZA SIX (Tokyo)

2015 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, Takashimaya Art Gallery (Nihonbashi, Shinjuku, Kyoto)

2012 New City Art Fair ー New York, USA

2011 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, Shonandai MY Gallery (Tokyo)

2010 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, Saidaiji Temple (Nara)

2009 Art singapore 2009 ー Singapore

2009 International Art Fair「KunStart」2009, ー ITALY 

2009 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, Shonandai MY Gallery (Tokyo)

1997 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, SPIRAL GARDEN Gallery (Tokyo)

1997 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, HOTEL NIKKO AT BEVERLY HILLS (Los Angeles, USA)

1997 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, LA ARTCORE CENTER (Los Angeles, USA)

1997 Shinichi Hara Exhibition, CAST IRON GALLERY (New York, USA)

1986 ARTFORUM (magazine) ー SIX/FIVE/TWO/GALLERY

Solo Exhibition, Art workwork introduction

1985 Shinichi Hara Exhibition SIX/FIVE/TWO/GALLERYS ー Los Angeles, USA

(Captured the attention of David Hockney)

COLLABORATIONS

2019–2024: 1000-Year Loop Project

Selected for the 1000-Year Loop Project, where four folding screens (16 meters in width) are dedicated to four of Nara's great temples, each with a history spanning over a thousand years. (Muro-ji, Kinpusenji,a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, Shigisan Chogosonshi-ji, and Saidaiji)

2019–2021: Appointed as Creative Director for the World Peace Festival, a gathering of religious leaders from around the world held at Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple in Tokyo. The festival was an official support program for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

2018: A painting was selected for the Premium New Year's postcard series, available exclusively at Japan Post

2016: Main visual selected for Takashimaya’s nationwide summer gift and year-end gift campaigns. Created portrait prints for GLAY and Ayumi Hamasaki.

2012: Created an art paint design for the TOYOTA Prius, a cloud-controlled robot car that can be driven using a smartphone without a steering wheel. The design featured 50,000 internet connectors attached to the car's body.

2007: Designed the world's first music robot, which was selected as a gift for state guests by the Prime Minister of Japan.

AWARDS

Received the 2007 Robot Award from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Awarded the Practical Technology Prize by the Robotics Society of Japan.