ONISHI GALLERY

Masako Inkyo, an artist whose works have been exhibited at Onishi Gallery several times, is the official Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) artist for Infiniti. Her work can be seen in the 2010 automobile commercials for the Infiniti G series.

Governor Masanori Tanimoto of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan visited Onishi Gallery to view the artwork by various artists from the prefecture including Mamoru Nakagawa, highly acclaimed Japanese Living National Treasure of Japan.

Onishi Gallery is proud to present “col­lab­o­ra­tion”, a two-person show of art­works by Kyoto Gold Leaf Mas­ter Hiroto Rakusho and New York fash­ion designer Ralph Rucci.

Nana Onishi has been named by Newsweek Japan as one of the most respected Japanese people. Nana Onishi opened the Onishi Gallery in Chelsea in 2005 in order to introduce Japan’s traditional crafts to the international art market. Since then, among other things, she has participated in the 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero in 2006 and received a "Thank You" letter from New York’s Mayor Bloomberg.

Born in 1947, in the Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, Mamoru Nakagawa is one of the most well respected kaga-inlay artists of his time and has been honored as a ‘Living National Treasure’ for his craft. In 2008, his masterpiece “Sekisei” became part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Onishi Gallery was pleased to participate in the New York Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) exposition in May 2008. Its exhibits at SOFA New York included works by Anjin Abe, a preeminent figure in Bizen Ware ceramics; Mamoru Nakagawa, a "living national treasure" famed for his work in copper casting and metal inlay; Toshio Ohi, the 11th-generation head of the Ohi dynasty of potters; and Tomoyo Hiraiwa, a jewelry artist well known in New York.

Ephemeral’s co-curators have selected works that evoke the Japanese aesthetic of temporality. The exhibition’s early-spring timing coincides with the season of cherry blossom viewing—traditionally an occasion for reflecting on the mutability of life while watching the falling of the pale pink petals. Ephemeral explores the implications of impermanence for life and for art.

For this event, a march will take place from the UN to ground zero at the World Trade Center site. Onishi Gallery has joined with Gallery Memoria, to introduce Kuyo to populations across the world. Kuyo is the Japanese custom of staying connected to our family and friends through remembrance, meditation, and offerings.

Onishi Gallery coordinates an event "Flower Festival" on the occasion of a celebration of the Spring Vernal Equinox, collaborating with Project Harmony and the UN Staff Recreation Council - Friendship Club from March 20-23, 2006. The Flower Festival presents harmony within diversity through a collective exhibition of Japanese Traditional Arts, featuring works by Miyoji Ishida, Hitomi Miyakoshi, Isuke Nakano, Suirei Narisawa, Nori Noda and Fumiko Uesaka.

The eternal theme of the Noh mask maker, Tendo Noguchi's creation is called "Kuyo", after the Japanese word for praying for one's ancestors. Noguchi feels and finds a spirit and soul inside a tree and interprets this onto the masks carved from its wood. The performers, led by choreographer Yana Schnitzler, touch the masks and dance as if moved by the powers hidden therein. It is actually the masks that lead the performers - and through them tell stories to the audience.