Takashi Hara

b. 1983 Tokyo, Japan Takashi Hara first understudied the prominent artist Koshin Soeda in Japanese calligraphy in Tokyo later moving on to achieve a Bachelor of Fine Arts Double Major in Painting and Ceramics at the University of Regina, Canada and graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics at the Arizona State University in 2015. Having successfully produced a number of exhibitions, commercial projects and artist in residencies internationally he now lives and works in his home City Tokyo.

The Japanese contemporary artist hand sculpts porcelain pigs, often positioning them sitting on a long bench or in a specific setting, expressions are of pure joy and encouragement. The series “Pig Nation” seeks to communicate a narrative of humanity. Through their abstracted journeys into topical situations there is a message conveyed by the pig characters. It's as if they are seen to be cohabiting, living on in communities despite having gender, race, and health conditions. Without specific reference to neutral shapes, Takashi Hara’ as a painter takes influence from the abstract expressionists of the post war era and produces predominantly abstract surrealist paintings which also depict pig figures and are ultimately generated from the unconscious. Takashi Hara thoughtfully places these twisted and distorted pig characters into various social situations and uncovers different topics, broadly relatable and important to humanity. Channeling such energy to create a narrative that speaks to society and by rejecting geometric shapes in favor of natural forms the artists seeks to visually impact the emotive state of his audience. 2012-2015 MFA(Ceramics) at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ USA 2006-2010 BFA, Double Major (Painting and Ceramics) at University of Regina, Regina, SK Canada 2002-2004 Studied Japanese Calligraphy undermaster instructor Koshin Soeda, Tokyo, Japan