Maki Horanai, 1977 | Magic realism painter

Born in Japan, Maki Horanai 洞内麻希 moved to Australia from Japan in 2005 and has had 18 solo exhibitions in various cities throughout Australia.

She grew up in small seaside villages in Hokkaido, northern Japan, where she often sat or played along the beach.

Maki's early influences were the ocean, the shore, the birds and islands she saw both in reality and in her imagination.

She began painting in high school and continued through college and graduate school where she was strongly influenced by the colors and themes of western and eastern art.

Tetsuya Ishida | Surrealist painter

Tetsuya Ishida / 石田 徹也 (1973-2005) was a Japanese painter, best known for his surreal portrayal of an ordinary Japanese life.

He was born in Yaizu, Shizuoka, as the youngest of four sons.

His father was a member of parliament and his mother, a housewife.

He attended Yaizu Central High School until his graduation in 1992.

Ishida stated in interviews that it was during this period that his parents, and his principal, applied pressure on him to thrive academically well enough to develop a teaching or chemist career.

Keishi Sakurai, 1974 | Romantic painter

Keishi Sakurai / 桜井 敬史 graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts in 1999, with major in Nihonga (Japanese Painting).

Keishi applies natural mineral pigments, rock paint, natural stone and hide glue on Japanese paper to create his paintings.

Keishi’s works depicting scenes from Japan, Europe, Asia, and bring a gentle feeling of serenity, viewers experience a blissful sense of tranquility when appreciating his works.

At present Keishi lives and works in Tokyo.

La Farfalla bianca / The white Butterfly

In tutte le culture la farfalla è stata assunta come segno di rinascita e rigenerazione, come simbolo dell’anima umana capace di rinnovarsi e trasformarsi.

Il particolare ciclo vitale della farfalla ha indubbiamente contribuito a tale associazione simbolica: la vita è rappresentata dallo stadio di bruco; la morte dallo stadio di crisalide inerte racchiusa nel bozzolo; la rinascita dalla farfalla che esce dall’involucro e vola via libera, immagine vivente della rinascita dello spirito, dell’anima liberata dall’involucro della materia, che lascia il corpo al momento della morte e diventa immortale.

Nella sua Historia animalium, scritta nel 344 a.C., Aristotele, dà alla farfalla il nome di "Psyche": non a caso, nella lingua greca, la parola psyche significa sia "anima" che "farfalla"; il mito in questione fu interpretato basandosi su questo doppio significato: Psyche dunque, premiata dagli dei con il dono dell'immortalità, è l’anima-farfalla che superati vari stadi di trasformazione e maturazione raggiunge la perfezione finale col divenire immortale ed eterna.

Al mito di Amore e Psyche si ispirò lo scultore neoclassico Antonio Canova (1757-1822) che scelse una farfalla per rappresentare l’anima di Psyche in una delicatissima opera in marmo.

La Farfalla bianca | Leggenda giapponese

In una casetta dietro al cimitero del tempio di Sazanji viveva un vecchio di nome Takahama.

Questi era molto abile e piaceva a tutti i suoi vicini, anche se molti di essi lo consideravano un po' pazzo.

A quanto sembra la sua pazzia consisteva semplicemente nel fatto che non si era mai sposato e non aveva mai mostrato desiderio di restare in intimità con una donna.

Un giorno di estate si ammalò tanto gravemente, che mandò a chiamare la cognata e il figlio di lei.

Louise Abbéma | A butterfly fairy

Naoto Hattori, 1975 | Pop Surrealist painter

Japanese painter Naoto Hattori was born in Yokohama Japan.

He graduated with honors from the Illustration Department at School of Visual Arts in New York.

He received Awards from the Society of Illustrators and The New York Directors Club.

Akira Kusaka | Fly Me To the Moon

Akira Kusaka 日下 明 is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in Osaka, Japan.

Akira Kusaka only works with Photoshop where he creates all of his artwork.

He creates for advertisements, book covers, children's picture book, web design, and more.

His all works are drawn only with photoshop.

Kazuhiko Fukuōji, 1955

Born in Mitaka City, Tokyo, Japanese artist Kazuhiko Fukuōji (福王寺一彦) as the second son of the painter Horin Fukuoji (1920-2012).

After graduating from Seijo Gakuen High School in 1974, he was selected for the first time at the institute exhibition in 1978, and won the Nihon Bijutsuin Award and Grand Prize at the institute exhibition in 1987 and 1988.

In 1992, his institute exhibition work was purchased by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Asako Eguchi, 1952 | Children's Illustrator

Asako Eguchi / 江口あさ子 an incredibly talented artist, dotted with magic, has given us many illustrations that make us dream.

A beautiful world where people, animals, and plants all harmonize and resonate together.

Born in Sanjo City, Niigata Prefecture, artist Asako Eguchi graduated from the Tokyo Designer Academy in 1973.

She is conducting a method of overlapping the watercolor and drying them in order to present a fantasy world.