In January 2025, I will be making my debut at London Art Fair in the Encounters section. The presentation will focus only on Japanese self-taught artists, in a display titled Bridging Worlds. Half of the artists featured have not been shown in the UK before and bring something new to audiences to linger over and fall in love with. Each of the artists featured work with different mediums but all create fascinating pieces that warrant closer inspection. Makota Okawa, Shinichi Sawada and Yoshihiro Watanabe forge 3D sculptures but use very different mediums. Okawa fashions vibrant felt dolls whose faces depict a variety of different emotions, Sawada uses clay to construct his unique creatures and Watanabe uses delicate, specially chosen Japanese oak leaves which he folds to create his animals. Kenta Ohuchi and Shinya Fujii both work on paper. Whilst Ohuchi’s work is big, bold and colourful, Fujii’s work is full of fine lines and delicate patterns.

- Shinya Fujii uses black pen to delicately draw patterns and faces, often inspired by his love of Bali.
- Naoki Hakuta breaks images down into small brightly coloured shapes and patterns to make up the whole.
- Kenta Ohuchi draws large works with bold, sweeping arm movements with immense energy, moving his whole body as if it were a full-body exercise.
- Makoto Okawa created brightly coloured ‘Makoot’ dolls from felt.
- Shinichi Sawada makes a splash with new intriguing wood-fired ceramics, pushing his practice even further.
- Yoshihiro Watanabe creates small intricate leaf sculptures, that were shown for the first time last year.

See you at the fair on my booth – E1 in the Encounters section upstairs

For any artwork enquiries, please email me on: info@jenniferlaurengallery.com

ACCESS: The venue is wheelchair accessible
Click here to visit London Art Fair website for more information and tickets

CARA MACWILLIAM WORKSHOP – Sunday 26 January 2025, 12–1pm
‘Connecting to the unseen through touch’

Artist Cara Macwilliam leads a workshop about her clay practice and gets people working with polymer clay that they can take home and bake in their oven themselves as art objects to keep. Prepare to embark on a transformative journey deep within yourself, where emotions and creativity collide with disabled self-taught artist, Cara Macwilliam. You’ll be encouraged to explore, touch, and connect closely with different art materials and explore your innermost thoughts and feelings. Using oven-dry clay, you’ll craft a tangible representation of your emotional response. It’s a hands-on journey of self-discovery through tactile artistry, where you’ll shape and mold your feelings into a tangible form. This workshop is all about embracing the spirit of play, tapping into your intuition, and giving voice to the often unseen, yet profoundly felt, emotions that dwell within you. You’ll unleash your inner artist, regardless of your prior experience, and to create something personal to you. 

Click here to book your £12 ticket to the workshop

Image above: Yoshihiro Watanabe, Dog leaf sculptures