AYA KAWATO

BIOGRAPHY 

Aya Kawato was born in Nara in 1988. Along with her family she later moved to Kyoto, where she grew up. Influenced by her father, who is a neuroscientist, she was exposed to the truth that we see this world through our brain. After studying traditional Japanese textile in Kyoto, she moved to Tokyo to study at Tokyo University of the Arts, wherein she participated in an exchange program at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux- arts in Paris; she further went on to complete the doctoral program in Intermedia Art in 2019. In line with the research theme of “Controlled and Uncontrolled,” she has been focusing to create abstract grid paintings. In these paintings, she combines the knowledge and expertise that she has gained through her background in Japanese traditional textile with the findings of the recent neuroscientific studies. She has been awarded with many art prizes, including that of the Grand Prix at Rêver 2074, the art competition co-hosted by COMITÉ COLBERT and Tokyo University of the Arts in 2017, and the Nomura Art Prize in 2018.