Born 1974 in Tokyo
Lives and works in Berlin

Galerie oko


Biography

1980
Began learning Calligraphy
1988-99
Student of the Calligrapher Undo Inamura
1994-98
Art-history studies at the Waseda University in Tokyo
1998-99
Courses in Design at Bunka Gakuin in Tokyo
1999-03
Artistic work in Vienna
2003-04
Artistic work in Tokyo and Berlin
2004-00
Artistic work in Berlin
2008-09
Lectureship at the Art History Institute of Freie Universitaet Berlin


Awards, Prizes and Grants

2007
Solo-Exhibition at Galerie oko selected by the Haus der Kulturen der Welt for the Asian-Pacific-Weeks Berlin; Performance with Yoko Tawada
2005
Supported by the Office for Culture of Berlin-Pankow
1997
Second prize in the national Keisei calligraphy competition
1994-98
Selected for the exhibitions at the national Mainichi and Keisei calligraphy competition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum


Solo-Exhibitions (C=catalogue)

2009
Manggha Museum of Japanese Art & Technology, Krakow/PL
Galerie Waidspeicher, municipal gallery in Erfurt/DE
Galerie oko, Berlin
"Eine Linie ist eine Linie", Hana Usui & Friederike Maltz, Essenheimer Kunstverein
next to Mainz/DE
2008
Schwartzsche Villa, municipal gallery in Berlin (C)
"Kataru Sen", Gallery 41artecontemporanea, Turin/IT
OPEN ART - Galerie Lichtpunkt, Munich/DE (C)
2007
Gallery Tomos, Tokyo
Galerie oko, Berlin
2006
Kunstkontor Rampoldt, Berlin (C)
Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Berlin
2005
Galerie oko, Berlin
Galerie F92, Berlin
2004
Gallery Conceal, Tokyo
2003
Pigasus Gallery, Berlin
Galerie Kierat I, Stettin/PL
2002
Kuso Galleria, Tokyo
Porgy & Bess, Wien
1998
Kuso Galleria, Tokyo


Group-Exhibitions (C=catalogue)

2009
"Sensai", Residenzgalerie Salzburg - State Museum of Salzburg/AT (C)
BERLINER LISTE - Galerie oko, fair for contemporary art in Berlin (C)
Charity-Art-Auction: IHK Berlin (C)
BASSENGE ART AUCTIONS, Galerie Eva Poll & Galerie Bassenge, Berlin (C)
2008
„Moduli“, parallevent to Manifesta 7 in the Municipal gallery of Bolzano/Bozen/IT
Charity-Art-Auctions: Akademie der Künste Berlin, IHK, Berlinische Galerie (C)
Gallery Art Academy, Erlengut next to Zürich/CH
BERLINER LISTE - Galerie oko, fair for contemporary art in Berlin
Salon du dessin et de la Peinture a l'Eau, Grand Palais Paris (C)
2007
Urbino Arte in the Collegio Raffaello, Urbino/IT
LISTE KÖLN - Galerie oko, fair for contemporary art in Cologne/DE (C)
Galleria 41artecontemporanea, Turin/IT
Charity-Art-Auctions: IHK and Pergamon Museum, Berlin (C)
BERLINER LISTE - Galerie oko, fair for contemporary art in Berlin (C)
2006
Löwenpalais - Starke Foundation, Berlin
BERLINER KUNSTSALON - Galerie oko, fair for contemporary art in Berlin (C)
ART FORUM BERLIN, fair for contemporary art in Berlin
ART COLOGNE, fair for contemporary art in Cologne
NBK Jahresgaben, New Berlin’s Art Association
Charity-Art-Auctions: TIPI, IHK Berlin, Kunstmuseum Bonn/DE (C)
Galerie oko, Berlin
2005
"Eros & Thanatos", Konzeptraum 17, Berlin
"Japan Now", Theaterhaus Mitte, Berlin
Manggha Center of Japanese Art & Technology, National Museum Krakow/PL
Japan Festival - Gothic Hall in the Citadel Spandau, Berlin
1998
Cultural Centrum "Nakano Zero", Tokyo
1994
Calligraphy-Exhibitions, Tokyo ('95, '96, '97, '98)


Collections

Artothek of the NBK - New Berlin’s Art Association
Artothek of the ZLB - Central and Regional Library of Berlin
Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Berlin
Berlinische Galerie - Berlin's Museum of Modern Art, Photography and Architecture
Manggha Museum of Japanese Art & Technology, Krakow/PL
Museum der Moderne Salzburg - State Museum of Salzburg/AT
Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), Berlin
Si und Dieter Rosenkranz, Berlin
Julietta Scharf, Berlin
Represented in several private collections in Austria, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, France, Polen, Swiss, Portugal and U.S.A.


Press review

MONOPOL KOMPAKT, October 09: Highlights und Etdeckungen der Berliner Herbstmessen
Tagesspiegel, 25.09.09: Berliner Liste
Mainzer-Rheinzeitung, 31.08.09: Erik Hüther
Allgemeine Zeitung, 31.08.09: "Chaos wechselt mit Ordnung"
Thüringer Landeszeitung, 25.06.09: "Der gefrorene Klang"
Thüringer Allgemeine, 23.06.09: "Tabubruch auf Japanpapier"
Dziennik Polski, 11.02.09: "Harmonia i bogactwo linii", an
Tagesspiegel, 01.11.08: "Herausragend: Ausstellung der Galerie oko...", Kolja Reichert
Deutsche Welle, 14.07.08: "Zwischen Kalligrafie und Naturmalerei", Nadine Wojcik
Exibart, 12.05.08: "Hana Usui - 41artecontemporanea Torino", Ginevra Bria
La Repubblica, 03.05.08: "Erbe stilizzate col punteruolo", Olga Gambari
ART PRESS, February 08: Hana Usui at Galerie oko, Aneta Panek
Berliner Zeitung, 15.01.08: Termin der Woche
Tagesspiegel, 29.01.08: "Klarer Strich und klare Brüche", Jens Hinrichsen
In Asien, Jan./Feb. 08: "Die Überwindung des Pinsels"
Tagesspiegel, 03.11.07: "Kratzspuren", Thea Herold
DasMagazin, November: Ausstellungstipp: "Linienvielfalt"
Yomiuri-Shimbun, 19.09.07: Norihide Miyoshi
rbb Kulturradio, 15.09.07: "Takehito Koganezawa & Hana Usui", Ulrike Meitzner
Berliner Morgenpost, 15.09.07: Tagestipp
doitsu news digest, 14.09.07: Kulturtipp
SHISEIDO-Magazin, September 07: "Hana Usui: Kunst als Synthese"
teknemedia, 28.06.07: "Engraving: segno inciso- segno stampato", Annalisa Russo
La Stampa - Torino 7, 15.06.07: "Segni e incisioni"
Il corriere dell' arte, July 07: "Uno spazio per il segno", Massimo Olivetti
Yomiuri-Shimbun, 15.12.06: Interview with Hana Usui at Galerie oko
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 25.02.06: "Die japanische Malerin Hana Usui bei Oko Berlin" (with partial English translation; con traduzione parziale in Italiano; 日本語訳), Niklas Maak
Die Welt, 06.01.06: "Aus den Galerien", Corinna Daniels
Berliner Morgenpost, 21.10.05: "Federleichte Kalligraphie"
doitsu news digest, 21.10.05: Who's Who
die tageszeitung, 07.09.05: "Die Leichtigkeit in der Schwere", Meike Jansen
berlin art info, September 05: "Einsamkeit in Berlin", Jennifer Becker
scheinschlag, September 05: "Japan in Berlin" & "Jenseits der Torstrasse"
Prinz, 25.08.- 30.09.05: "Best of Berlin - Hana Usui Nr. 2 bei den TOP 5 Neuberlinern"
Japanorama, July 05: "Gespräch mit der Künstlerin Hana Usui"
Die Welt, 03.06.05: "Abstraktes von Hana Usui im Atelier oko", Corinna Daniels
Japanorama, April 05
Gekkan Gallery, April 05: Hana Usui & Galerie oko
Radio Orange Wien, June 02: Interview with Hana Usui