Eight hundred artists, 7,000 works from Japan and counting—a new world view takes shape
By the time TRiCERA ART was born in 2018, the online art universe was already teeming with art forums of every kind. Online galleries doing millions of dollars’ worth of business in trade around the world were more than plentiful. What could a new online gallery add?
What was new then? What is new now?
For one, a global online gallery based in Japan was unique. And it still is. Plus, it has become one of the largest of its kind in the world. Starting with little more than a hundred artists by the end of 2019, TRiCERA ART now represents more than 5,000 artists from over 100 countries. It has expanded well beyond its Japan home, especially throughout Asia. No other platform brings these artists together into a browsable market and gallery.
The platform fully engages the world and its customers in eight languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, and more—so it is at first not obvious that TRiCERA ART is a Japanese platform at all. But there are some pretty solid clues, including extreme graciousness and speed in customer service and responsiveness; impeccable packaging for safe and mint-condition delivery; an unwavering “customer is always right” attitude to go with its generous free global shipping and 14-day free-return policy; and the inclusion of a Certification of Authenticity on Blockchain.
If you’ve spent any time in Japan, you know there is a dimension to these virtues that is more culture than business strategy. But as the popularity of Japanese cultural artifacts and pop culture intensifies through Japanese gaming, manga, cuisine, and all things cute, international art lovers are discovering an important window to Japan through TRiCERA ART.
What makes this opportunity to connect with Japan unique is the direct connection to the work, vision, and experience of individual artists of the country, who inevitably offer a deeper, if more subtle, sense of both themselves and the place where they live.
Artists like Hiroki Takeda, for example, are surely representative of Japan’s reputation for exquisite attention to detail—in watercolor, no less. Nor is Takeda a stranger to cute, as his depictions of some of the most feared creatures wouldn’t be complete under his brush without the presence—really, the essential composition—of something like a butterfly and delicate flora in the abundance of vibrant hues.
We’re also eager to mention the amazing artistry of Ishii Nobuo, whose works in painting and sculpture combine numerous styles into a greater whole that may be compared with Japan’s historic command of many styles and techniques that originate outside its borders. And Ishii did not turn his creative potential to fine art until after he’d turned 60!
Similarly popular on TRiCERA ART is Todoroki Tomohiro, who finds a way to unabashedly infuse cute into the scraggliest lines you’ll ever see enclosing solid fields of boldly contrasting colors.
“The popularity of contemporary art is booming in the world market, and it is booming here in Japan, too,” says Tai Iguchi, CEO of TRiCERA, Inc. “But many great artists remain hidden. They could even be our greatest—and TRiCERA is there to give them a chance to reach the world.”
“And we’re there to give the world a chance to meet the artists,” Iguchi continues. “TRiCERA ART began with a passion for finding great new artists. We found a lot! And we are just as passionate as we were at the beginning to find more. In addition, we are developing ways to be more involved in the whole art market and artist-development process, with the ultimate goal of breaking all barriers between artists and art lovers—wherever they are in the world.”
In keeping with the philosophy of art as universal and borderless, your first encounter with TRiCERA ART will not immediately reveal a way to browse by country. Instead, you will find endless pathways through styles, genres, materials, and motifs—and even convenient sorting by price. You may easily forget your quest to search by country once you are deep into the other ways to search for art that appeals to you on the site.
Try it! What suits your fancy? It is often the case that the style, genre, motif, etc., is decided for you in an encounter with art. Not here! Use TRiCERA ART’s search and sorting tools to see what the world’s artists can do with any specific subject you like.
And then, after you’ve explored a while, click on the “Artists” link. From there, you’ll be able to select countries, such as Japan, represented by more than 800 artists and more than 7,000 works. Browsing by country gives you a most refreshing view of places in the world. You’ll especially enjoy the prolific representation of artists in Asian countries. It’s a great way to visit and connect to these countries without traveling, a connection made all the more beautiful through the sensibilities of the artists who are passionately there.
TRiCERA ART’s global online gallery is available and ready for use at https://www.tricera.net.