AKIHIRO HASEGAWA (長谷川 彰宏)

Akihiro Hasegawa (長谷川 彰宏 b.1997, Mie Prefecture, Japan) is a contemporary artist based in Tokyo, Japan. A successor to a family-run temple, Hasegawa entered the Buddhist priesthood at Saikyo Temple, Mt. Hiei at 10 years old. By 19 years old, he enrolled in the Tokyo University of the Arts, the most prestigious art school in Japan, which, considering its notoriously low acceptance rate, is a rare and striking accomplishment. In 2019, he completed the Buddhist Shidokegyo (Four Preliminary Practices) and, in the following year, began his master’s degree at the Tokyo University of the Arts. His works mainly depict human figures. Eclectic and elaborate, they traverse a range of styles, from Byzantinesque oil pastel drawings to realistic portraits and experimental multilayered acrylic plate paintings. Overarching themes of his works include Buddhist imagery, ideas regarding the existence and potential of space and time in painting, and an inherent curiosity and affinity for human subjects. Hasegawa is an ALT Project creative director and a recipient of the distinguished Kuma Foundation grant.