Naoki Iwakawa

Naoki Iwakawa was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1967. Growing up, he became interested the New York art world after reading about it in magazines. He graduated from Osaka University of the Arts, where he also taught briefly as an assistant professor of Graphic Design.

At the age of 24 he moved to New York City, where he began showing art at OK Harris and Noho Gallery in Manhattan. In 1996, he co-founded the CAVE, an experimental art space that fostered an eclectic group of musicians, artists, and performers. At the CAVE, he further developed his interest in live performance painting as well as the artistic use of fire, a practice that would later garner him the title of Village Voice’s Best Pyrotechnic Action Painter (2008). He learned to produce paintings instinctively, with an emphasis on acceptance of the natural world and the present moment. The idea of the moment, as sought by Zen Buddhists, has been the prominent theme of his work and life.

Naoki is also drawn to the relationship between music and visual art. He collaborated for many years with Tim Wright, of the band DNA.  One of his latest projects is Sense of Noise, a performance series featuring artists and musicians improvising together over a single yet constantly transforming idea.