Kohei Fujito
Born
Kohei Fujito

1978
Akan, Kushiro-city, Hokkaido, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Known forMixed Media, Folk Art, Industrial Design
Notable workIkupasuy (2017)
StyleContemporary
MovementContemporary Ainu Folk Art

Kohei Fujito (藤戸康平, Fujito Kōhei, born 1978) is a Japanese contemporary artist whose works blend Ainu folk art with industrial design, and is best known for his active promotion of indigenous Japanese art, culture, and history.[1]

Artistic career

Fujito's East Asian visual art mediums predominantly encompass mixed media, folk arts, and industrial design. The popularization of Ainu art brought about by the 1941 Ainu Crafts and Culture exhibition in Tokyo's Japan Folk Crafts Museum spurred a new generation of Ainu Japanese artists like Fujito whose works continue to garner widespread acclaim in response to the ever-expanding global celebrations of indigenous identities.[2][3][4]

In addition to his studies of Ainu culture, Fujito incorporates patterns and designs from his forebears within 21st Century consumer products such as eyeglasses, iPhone cases, and watches in an eclectic fusion of local historic Ainu craftsmanship and modern practicality.[5]

In 2017, the International Festival of Indigenous People in Italy commissioned Fujito to create a monument for the occasion, to which he conceived Ikupasuy.[6][7]

Personal life

Born and based near Lake Akan, Kushiro, Hokkaido, Fujito is a member of the indigenous Ainu population where he manages the local shop "Kuma no Ie (House of the Bear)" in the town of Akan.[8] He received artistic training from his father, Takeki Fujito (born 1934), an internationally renowned woodcarver who specializes in lifelike depictions of local residents and animals.[9]

Exhibitions and projects

Exhibitions

Projects

  • Utilization of Timber from Hokkaido[6]
  • LEXUS NEW TAKUMI PROJECT[13][14]

Museum collections

  • National Museum of Japanese History and Folklore
  • National Museum of Ethnology

References

  1. ↑ "Special Display: Contemporary Ainu Art by Kohei Fujito". Japan-UK Season of Culture. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. ↑ "The Beauty of Ainu Handiwork." Tokyo Art Beat, 2020. http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/event/2020/B259.en.
  3. ↑ "Lake Akan Is Planning New Strategy to Attract More Tourists." Travel and Tour World, August 24, 2017. https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/lake-akan-is-planning-new-strategy-to-attract-more-tourists/.
  4. ↑ "The Beauty of Ainu Handiwork". The Miyagi Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Special Display: Contemporary Ainu Art by Kohei Fujito." Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, 2020. https://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/SeasonCulture/event/2020/202001/16_Daiwa_ContemporaryAinuArt.html
  6. 1 2 "Special Display: Contemporary Ainu Art by Kohei Fujito." Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, 2020. http://dajf.org.uk/event/special-display-contemporary-ainu-art-by-kohei-fujito.
  7. ↑ Noma, Kiyoshi (2017, July 27). Hokkaido looks to indigenous heritage for tourism appeal. Nikkei Asia. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Japan-Trends/Hokkaido-looks-to-indigenous-heritage-for-tourism-appeal
  8. ↑ Aakankoainukotan (n.d.). Feel an Ainu village living with inherited unique culture. Peach Live: Area Discovery Magazine. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https://peachlive.net/experience/akankoainukotan-2/?lang=en
  9. ↑ "Finished: The World Full of Life Created by Ainu Master Carver, Fujito Takeki." Sapporo Art Park, 2017. https://artpark.or.jp/en/exhibition-event/fujito-takeki/.
  10. ↑ "More Ainu Events in December!." Ainu Pride Productions, December 11, 2012. http://ainupride.blogspot.com/2012/.
  11. ↑ Ainu Art: Oki Kano and Kohei Fujito. (2020). In EXTRACTION: Art on the Edge of the Abyss (pp. 98-99). Retrieved January 27, 2021, from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ae226e1ee175988a09f3d7e/t/5f8a02a563b478477e2bd287/1602880185140/Megazine_EXCERPT.pdf
  12. ↑ "Exposure: Native Art and Political Ecology." IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, 2020. https://www.extractionart.org/mocna.
  13. ↑ LEXUS NEW TAKUMI PROJECT 2018: FUJITO/ita: 北海道: 藤戸 康平. (2018). Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://lexus.jp/brand/new-takumi/2018/fujito-kohei/
  14. ↑ Kohei Fujito. (2018, March 24). The Hokkaido Shimbun Press Newspaper. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://lexus.jp/brand/new-takumi/common/pdf/2018/list/takumi/fujito-kohei.pdf
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