Amin Abbas

ABU DHABI: The Embassy of Japan in the UAE and Khawla Art and Culture have co-organized a collaborative calligraphy exhibition at the Khawla Art and Culture Gallery in Abu Dhabi.

Held under the support by Sheikha Khawla Bint Ahmed Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, the wife of Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser, and a calligrapher, poet and writer, the exhibition is running from April 19 to April 30 except for Saturday and Sunday.

The opening of the exhibition was held on April 18, inaugurated by Japanese Ambassador to the UAE, Isomata Akio and attended by distinguished guests from the UAE and Japanese community in Abu Dhabi.

Ambassador Isomata gave a speech at the beginning of the event, thanking guests for their attendance. He also expressed the importance of the friendship & relationship between UAE & Japan in many aspects including exchanging culture and art.

The centerpiece of the exhibition features two extraordinary co-created artworks titled “Peace” and “Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility.”

These pieces were calligraphed by Sheikha Khawla Bint Ahmed Khalifa Al-Suwaidi and the highly acclaimed Japanese calligrapher, Juichi Yoshikawa.

“I’m very happy and grateful to have been able to hold this exhibition with Sheikha Khawla in a way that I had never imagined. I’m overwhelmed by Her Highness’s elegant style of creating her works, and her technique of brush strokes which is with the dignity. I have put my heart and soul into these calligraphy works, using gold and other materials, in order to show you the best of the analog world. I have produced this work with all my heart,” said Juichi Yoshikawa.

Yoshikawa’s individual artworks, also on display, further showcase his exceptional talent and mastery of this art form.

The exhibition does not only celebrate the artistic mastery, but also highlights the profound friendship and mutual respect between Japan and the UAE.

Yoshikawa studied under Ueda Sokyu, Uno Sesson, Inamura Undo and Kawasaki Kazuteru. He has won many awards, including the Keisei Award, Grand Prix at the Mainichi Shodo Exhibition and Fukui City Cultural Award, as well as Praise from the Mainichi Shodo Association. He is a member of the Mainichi Shodo Exhibition Selection Committee.

Equipped with free-thinking and excellent planning ability, he has opened up an extensive world of expression. His activities are not limited to Japan only. He has been acting energetically as a SYOING artist, performing SYOING from a helicopter on the Red Sand Desert in Dubai, U.A.E in 2006, a giant piece of calligraphy under the Eiffel Tower in Paris and a huge piece in the size of 45 meters x 15 meters in front of more than 3,000 spectators in China’s Tiananmen Square.

Furthermore, he has calligraphed the titles for “Musashi,” one of NHK’s annual historical dramas, and “Vagabond” and “Zipang,” comic books published by Kodansha, among others.