Gajin Fujita (Past Project)

Tail Whip, 2013
7540-7542 Fay Avenue
13' 9" x 47' 3"

In Gajin Fujita's Tail Whip, the dragon is a classic symbol of immortality and can exist in all environments and universes. It depicts the serpent beast weaving its sinuous body amongst traditional Japanese motifs and graffiti lettering – effortlessly navigating through these disparate worlds. Growing up in Southern California, Fujita often felt tethered between two separate identities, his Japanese heritage and his Inner City L.A. experience. He works attempt to bridge that gap, and to find connectivity where both sides can harmoniously exist.

Gajin Fujita’s paintings incorporates graffiti language, traditional iconography drawn from Edo-period woodblock prints, and symbols of West Coast culture. Born in 1972, Fujita is the son of Japanese parents who raised him and his brothers in Boyle Heights, a historic immigrant neighborhood just east of Downtown Los Angeles. As a teenager, Fujita became fascinated with graffiti, joining the tagging crews KGB (Kidz Gone Bad) and KIIS (Kill to Succeed). Through graffiti, Fujita followed his own path towards fine art and received his BA from Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, and his MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he found mentorship under art critic Dave Hickey.

Reverence for Japanese art history and pride for his identity as an L.A. native assert equal importance in Fujita’s work, which he executes with a mastery of materials and techniques including spray paint, paint markers, and gold leaf on wood panels.His work resides in public collections worldwide including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Toledo Museum of Art, OH; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. In 2019, Fujita received an honorary doctorate from Otis College of Art & Design. Fujita lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Photos by Philipp Scholz Rittermann