Noritaka Tatehana presents a redesigned worldview by combining elements of traditional Japanese culture with those of the contemporary era. His carefully honed artistry is elegantly expressed through various media, and his creations, which nurture the sensitivities of Japanese history, tradition,and innovation, burst with endless possibilities for the future. Gaining the attention of audiences all over the globe, Tatehana is known for his 'Heel-less Shoes' series inspired by takageta – elevated wooden clogs worn by traditional Japanese courtesans. The artistʼs works have been acquired by internationally acclaimed institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Read MoreNoritaka Tatehana was born in Tokyo in 1985, and is still based in Tokyo. In 2010, he graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts' Department of Crafts, specialising in textile arts. Notable exhibitions include Image-Makers (21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, 2014), Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2012), and his solo exhibition NORITAKA TATEHANA: Aesthetics of Magic (Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum, 2016). Tatehana has also worked on a wide range of projects, including producing a bunraku performance in 2016 at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris. In 2019, the artist held two large-scale solo exhibitions, NORITAKA TATEHANA: Refashioning Beauty (Portland Japanese Garden, 2019) and It's always the others who die (POLA Museum Annex, 2019).
Text courtesy KOSAKU KANECHIKA.
