ARTIST STATEMENT
After many years working in the fashion industry, I’ve explored new mediums of expression, namely watercolors. I have found the painstaking and detailed method of layering one wash over another to carefully paint my subjects directly connects to my cultural background. My aunt and uncle in Japan were artists and calligraphers. As I look at their work, I realize that I inherited my meticulous and sensitive approach from them. Even though I was born in New York and have lived in the US most of my life, I feel a strong connection to my Japanese heritage.
As a former designer, taste has always been important to me. The fashion design experience helped me hone my sense of colors and my eye for composition. All these elements- my Japanese influence and fashion background constantly inspire me and serve as the foundation for my artwork.
Recently, I have been working on a new series of portraits of close family members, and friends as well as paintings of myself. I love capturing the expressions and moods of my subjects. These new portraits exude warmth, love, and happiness, which are the feelings I possess about life and my family. I try to live my life with honesty and integrity, and I hope my paintings reflect these values.
BIO
Aki Kano is a New York-based representational watercolor painter. She received her BFA from the University of Michigan's School of Art and later followed her passion for fashion design attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC.
After working as a fashion and handbag designer for over 15 years, she returned to her love of art in 2014 when she discovered watercolor painting in a class at the Art Students League of New York.
Her meticulous and sensitive watercolor paintings, which consist mostly of portraits, have been accepted into prestigious juried shows in galleries worldwide, the Salmagundi Club, and museums, and have won numerous awards. Her work has been featured multiple times in magazines including Fine Art Connoisseur, American Art Collector, and International Artist Magazine. She has been the President of the American Artists Professional League since 2021, a non-profit organization founded in 1928, consisting of over 600 of America’s most accomplished realist artists. Aki is a Signature Member of the AAPL, an Honorary Member of the Salmagundi Club, a Juried Member of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, a Juried member of the International Guild of Realism, and a member of PoetsArtists. She is represented online on Artsy.net by 33 Contemporary Gallery.
She is very excited that five of her watercolor portraits landed on the moon via the Lunar Codex on February 22, 2024. The Lunar Codex includes the works of over 30,000 artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers from 161 countries, in 4 time capsules launched to the moon.
CV
Education:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; School of Art and Design- B.F.A
Fashion Institute of Technology- Fashion Design- A.A.S
Art Students League, NYC- 2010- Present
Exhibitions:
February 2025- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Modern Classics Artsy Online Show
January - February 2025- 33 Contemporary Gallery, BFF (Modern Portraits)
January 2025- Salmagundi Club, 148th Annual Black & White Exhibition
December 2024- Salmagundi Club, Thumb Box Small Works Exhibition
October - November 2024- The American Artists Professional League, 96th Grand National Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club
October 2024- Take Home A Nude, New York Academy of Art Auction Event at Sotheby’s New York
September - December 2024- International Guild of Realism Fall Salon Online Exhibition
October 2024 - 33 Contemporary Gallery, Stillness Artsy Online Show
September 2024 - 33 Contemporary Gallery, Love Artsy Online Show
July-August 2024 - Salmagundi Club Members Non-Juried Summer Exhibition- Recipient of the Margery Soroka Memorial Award for Watercolor
July 2024- 33 Contemporary Gallery, FACE to FACE Solo Exhibition, Artsy Online Show
July 2024- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Conversation Artsy Online Show
June 2024- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Confrontation Artsy Online Show
May 2024-May 2026- Allied Artists of America 2024 Associate Online Show
May 2024- Salmagundi Club Spring Auction- Recipient of the Philip Isenberg Memorial Award for Watercolor
March-April 2024- The American Artists Professional League, ‘Realism on the Hudson’ Small Works Exhibition at the Howland Cultural Center
January 2024- Acceptance into the ModPortrait 2023 Special Catalog
January 2024- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Water Artsy Online Show
November-December 2023- Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art (WMoCA), 7th Annual Juried Exhibition (ANJE)
November 2023- The American Artists Professional League, 95th Grand National Exhibition
October 2023- Galleri Ramfjord Grants Exhibition- Oslo, Norway (Aki was one of 25 artists selected for this show from 2700 submissions through two rounds of jurying).
October-December 2023- International Guild of Realism Fall Salon Online Exhibition
August-October 2023- The American Artists Professional League, ‘Realism on the Hudson’ Exhibition at the Howland Cultural Center
July-August 2023- Salmagundi Club Summer Members Exhibition
May-June 2023 - Salmagundi Club Spring Auction
May 2023- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Self as Self Artsy Online Show
March 2023- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Mujer Artsy Online Show
March 2023- Salmagundi Club, Rites of Spring Exhibition
December 2022- Abend Gallery, 32nd Annual Holiday Miniatures Show
December-January 2023- Salmagundi Club, 114th Annual Thumb-Box Exhibition and Sale
November-December 2022- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Me, Myself,& I (in-person exhibition)
October-December 2022- International Guild of Realism Fall Salon Online Exhibition
October 2022- Salmagundi Fall Auction- Recipient of the Mortimer Freehof Memorial Award for Watercolor
October 2022- Camelback Gallery, Open Theme International Juried Painting Exhibition- Recipient of a Bronze Award
August 2022- Salmagundi Club Summer Members Exhibition
July 2022- Camelback Gallery, Shades of Red 2022 International Juried Visual Arts Exhibition- Recipient of a Bronze Award
June-July 2022- Green Mountain Watercolor Exhibition
June-July 2022- Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, 125th Annual Open Juried Exhibition
May 2022- Camelback Gallery, Faces 2022 International Juried Painting Exhibition - Recipient of a Bronze Award
April-June 2022- American Artists Professional League/Members Spring Online Show
March 2022- Salmagundi Club Spring Auction
March 2022- Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art (WMoCA), Salon des Refusés
March 2022- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Mujer Artsy Online Show. The catalog for this exhibition is going to the Moon through the Lunar Codex.
November-December 2021-Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art (WMoCA), 5th Annual Juried Exhibition (ANJE)
October-November 2021-Audubon Artists 79th Annual Exhibition
October-December 2021-Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, 2nd Annual Online Associates Show - Recipient of the Second Place Award in Watermedia
October-December 2021-33 Contemporary Gallery, The Portrait Artsy Online Show
September-October 2021-Salmagundi Club Fall Auction - Recipient of the Mortimer Freehof Memorial Award for Watercolor
September-October 2021- Ridgefield Guild of Artists’ 44th Annual Juried Exhibition
August 2021- Salmagundi Club Members’ Summer Exhibition-Recipient of the Margery Soroka Memorial Award for Watercolor
July 2021- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Meow Artsy Online Show
May-June 2021- Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, 124th Annual Open Juried Show
April-August 2021- American Artists Professional League/Members Spring Online Show
March-May 2021- International Guild of Realism Spring Salon Online Exhibition
March 2021- 33 Contemporary Gallery, International Women's Day Postcard Pop UP Show 2021, Artsy Online Show
February 2021- 33 Contemporary Gallery, Be My Valentine Miniature Pop Up Show
November-December 2020- American Artists Professional League/92nd Grand National Juried Exhibition
November-December 2020- Audubon Artists 78th Annual Exhibition Online- Recipient of the Honorary John Angelini Memorial Award
October 2020- Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, 2020 1st Associates/Non-Members Online Show
August-December 2020- 33 Contemporary Gallery, “Ambivalence”, Artsy Online Show
October 2020- International Guild of Realism 15th Annual Juried Exhibition @ Principle Gallery, Charleston, South Carolina
2020-2021- Allied Artists of America 107th Online Juried Exhibition
2020-2021- Allied Artists of America Associate Members’ Online Show
2020- American Artists Professional League Online Members’ Only Show, “Favorite Things”
November 2019- American Artists Professional League/ 91st Grand National Juried Exhibition @ the Salmagundi Club, NYC
October-November 2019- Audubon Artists 77th Annual Exhibition @ the Salmagundi Club, NYC
June-August 2019- Hudson Valley Art Association, Lyme, CT/86th Annual National Juried Exhibition
February-March 2019- Dacia Gallery, NYC/Women Artists Group Exhibition
January 2019- Manhattan Borough President’s Office, NYC/ 10th Annual Small Works Show
December 2018- Ground Floor Gallery, NYC/6th Annual Holiday Show
November 2018- American Artists Professional League/90th Grand National Juried Exhibition @ the Salmagundi Club, NYC- Recipient of the Leila Gardin Sawyer Memorial Award
January-February 2018- Manhattan Borough President's Office, NYC/ 9th Annual Small Works Show
December 2017-January 2018- 440 Gallery, NYC/13th Annual Small Works Show
October- December 2017- American Artists Professional League/89th Grand National Juried Exhibition
December 2015- Ground Floor Gallery, NYC/ Holiday Show
MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS
President of the Board of Directors and Signature Member of the American Artists Professional League
A Juror for the 2024 and 2025 Almenara Art Prize Competition
Honorary Member of the Salmagundi Club
Member of the International Guild of Realism
Juried Member of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
Elected Member of Audubon Artists
Associate Member of Allied Artists of America
Member of Poets Artists
Included in the Lunar Codex
Photo credit: Yuki Kano
My uncle’s ink painting
My aunt’s calligraphy