Fujita exhibition, London

Samurai warriors, Geisha women, street graffiti and sex come together in a series of new works by LA-born Japanese-American artist Gajin Fujita, opening this month in London. Fujita's carefully crafted panel- and paper-based creations conflate the seemingly disparate aesthetics of American hip-hop culture with traditional Japanese woodblock Ukiyo-e-style print imagery.

Click here to see more of the exhibition.

The work challenges potential artistic preconceptions. The ostensible delicacy and quiet of the Japanese drawings are undermined by their depictions of graphic sex and physical combat. Conversely, the street art feels decorative, even pretty, rather than destructive or blighting.

Whether as a comment on contrasting artistic styles or as an attempt at personal cultural reconciliation, Fujita's work feels modern, young and fresh – a pleasant graphic witness to the increasingly connected world in which we all live.

6 May 2008 | Art