Ikuyo Fujita
Ikuyo Fujita is a Japanese artist who works primarily in needle felt painting and mogol (pipe cleaner) art. She is known for rabbit and cat art. Her kawaii style needle felt paintings are popular among rabbit lovers in Japan.
Life and career
Fujita was born in Tokyo, Japan. She started needle felt painting in 2004. Her early works were portraits of her pet, a Netherland Dwarf Rabbit named Chibi-chan. Chibi-chan died in 2010 but Fujita continued to paint representations of her Netherland Dwarf.Fujita's is a largely self-taught artist although her mother, an avid amateur handicrafts maker, showed her basics of the craftings. As a child, Fujita played with her mother's art materials and later began creating her own works as she grew older.
In 2010, she published her artworks online. She had a solo exhibition in New York.
In 2012, Active Corporation in Japan published her rabbit art calendar and postcard, the calendar and the postcard were sold in major department stores in Japan. In the same year, her art instruction book was published by Magazine Land publishing in Japan. She started teaching art workshops in Japan Handicraft Association and Mitsukoshi cultural center.
In 2014, her art instruction book was translated and published in Taiwan, Hongkong, and Macau. Her artwork, lucky clover, was awarded new artist of the year at Kokusai Shiyoga Taisiyouten in Japan.
In 2017, Active Corporation published her cat art postcards.
She is currently living in Tokyo.
She is also an art instructor and author of an art instruction book. Her book is available in Chinese.
Exhibitions
Selected solo exhibitions
- 2013 Ikuyo Fujita's ~ A Rabbit's Needleworks II~ at Musashino Gallery in Koganei, Tokyo Japan
- 2012 Cute and puffy rabbits art exhibition at AMULET in Oshiage, Tokyo, Japan.
- 2010 Love Cats and Rabbits at Ouchi Gallery in Brooklyn, New York USA
- 2009 Ikuyo Fujita's ~A Rabbit's Needleworks~ at AMULET in Kanda, Tokyo Japan
- 2019 12-artworks from Fujita's picture book, 'Yasashi-Mori' at Le Tiroir Galerie et Studio, Tokyo Japan
- 2023 Solo Exhibition - Artworks from Fujita's picture book, 'Yasashi-Mori' -Kind Neighbors in a Forest- Oyasumi Books Store, Saitama, Japan
- 2023 BUNNY'S TOY FACTORY THE STORE POP UP in Hyacinth - Hyacinth Antique Shop, Saitama, Japan
Selected group exhibitions
- 2024 IAG AWARDS 2024 - Gallery Michikusa Prize & Audience Award
- 2017 UMEDA ZOO at Osaka Hankyu Umeda, Osaka Japan
- 2015 Novelties of Artist at Shibuya SEIBU 100IDEES, Tokyo Japan
- 2014 Tokyo International Painting and Calligraphy, Grand Prix Exhibition at TOKYO METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUM, Tokyo Japan
- 2014 Artexpo New York 2014, New York USA
- 2013 CONTEMPORARY ART BELEM 2013 at Lisbon Centro Cultural de Belem, Lisbon Portugal
- 2013 NEKO RANMAN EXHIBITION at MeguroGAJYOEN, Tokyo Japan
- 2013 Fountain Art Fair at the Armory, New York USA
- 2013 The Unit State of International Artists, at Olga Santos Gallery, Porto Portogal
- 2012 Ren-ais-sance at Strange Loop Gallery, New York USA
- 2012 Fountain Art Fair at the Armory, New York USA
- 2011 Art Now Fair Miami, Florida USA
- 2011 Montreux Art Gallery, Montreux Switzerland
Publications
- How to Make Cute and Puffy Rabbit Needle Felt Arts / Magazine Land publishing 2012
- Make Easy Wool Felt Art ~18 Japanese Rabbits / Shānyuè wénhuà publication, Taiwan 2014
- How to make rabbits with color mogol / Life with Rabbits Magazine / Life with Rabbit Magazine / Life with Rabbit Magazine / Time of Rabbits Magazine No. 15 / Seibundou Sin-cousya publishing P15 April 2015
- Ikuyo Fujita Interview / Life with Rabbit Magazine Futami Publishing November 2011 P58,60
- Featured artist / Moe Magazine Hakusen Publishing January 2009 P62
- Featured artist / Cute Handicrafts 1000 Futami publishing October 2008 P134,135
- Handicraft techniques / Kuri Kuri's Basic Handicrafting Futami publishing 2006 July P59～66
- Featured artist / Kuri Kuri Magazine Toui publication No. 3 October 2004 P3～5
Media appearance
- Kon-nichiwa Itto-rokken 「こんにちは いっと6けん」, 2011 NHK Tokyo, Japan