OUTDOOR

Natsuki Takauji: The Heart of the Tree

11 May – 15 Dec. 2024

Natsuki Takauji was born in Japan and moved to NYC in 2008 to discover the city and herself as an artist. She works toward questions driven by her life experiences in Japan and as an immigrant in NYC; her primary artistic intention is to communicate individually or communally. Therefore, many of her works are interactive or participatory, installed in public spaces. She teaches Metal Sculpture and leads a public art program, Works in Public, at The Art Students League of New York in partnership with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. She co-founded a non-profit arts organization, The Artist Gardener NYC to activate green spaces in the local communities through arts and educational programs.

Her public sculptures were exhibited throughout New York; Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Riverside Park South 61st St, Van Cortlandt Park, Rye Town Park, and GreenThumb Community Gardens. She completed a socially engaging project, What Is Your Name? at the LaGuardia Airport, Queens, and it was exhibited at Japan Society (2023) and The Immigrant Artist Biennial (2020).

She has curated exhibitions for Sculptors Alliance and Lithuanian Alliance of America in NYC. Her work was recently showcased at Japan Society, The City College of New York, Kameyama Art Triennale in Japan, CICA Museum in Korea, Oeno Gallery in Canada, Palazzo Mora in the Venice Biennale, Italy, and more. She is a recipient of the AnkhLave Garden Project Fellowship, Artport Residency Fellowship, Queens Art Fund Grant, Model to Monument Fellowship, Nessa Cohen Grant, and more. She received B.A. from Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, and a Certificate of Fine Art from The Art Students League of New York.