Please tell me a bit about how you chose the locations and eras for your imaginary studios.

I chose these places and periods because I feel that they each embody moments when society was changing—or at least trying to change—to create a good context for something new to be born. I believe an artist can do nothing alone, that we need an environment in which to create something new. Artists need collectors and institutions like governments, corporations, and museums to develop their art. And in these locations and eras this was happening—the ground was fertile for the arts to develop. Another criterion in choosing these places and times was simply that I am familiar with them.

If you had to pick one of them to live in, which would it be and why?

Well, two of these eight studios come from my personal history. Studio in Tokyo (1992) was my first apartment after finishing college and moving to Japan. The text for this studio is a real story. Studio In New York (Long Island City) is my actual studio now, so it’s my everyday reality. But if I had the chance to choose my life, I’d want to live in Paris in 1910, and be born into a very wealthy family. It seems to have been a fun-filled time.

In these pieces, you’ve identified some of the hallmark characteristics of being an artist in each of your chosen settings. If you were to apply the same thought process to New York in 2022, what would that accompanying text look like?

It’s always easier to analyze the past and to write about it than it is the present moment because we can fact-check the past. But if I needed to send a message to myself today I would say something I say often to younger artists around me: “This is not an easy city to survive in. You should work hard and smart, and don’t forget to smile after you finish each piece.”

There’s a variety of media used in this show: painting, digital rendering, writing. How did you decide that this theme asked to be expressed in all these different ways?

I have a certain facility in working with many types of materials without ever having gone to art school or having a teacher. So usually I have an idea and then start to think about how to realize it and what kind of media will be the best to express it. For this studio series the main media are oil painting, digital modeling, and short texts talking about the context. I’m not so good at 3D digital rendering, so a designer helped me with that element.

Which medium do you feel most at-home with?

Drawing is part of my body. I have done it since I was a toddler. As an adult I’ve spent most of my artistic life doing big oil paintings. But I don’t consider myself a painter. If I need to choose a title, I’ll go with “visual artist.”