Aya Takano studied at Tama Art University in Tokyo and was an assistant to Takashi Murakami. She is part of the Superflat community of artists and was involved in the Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture show in 2005. She belongs to the Kaikai Kiki, the production studio Murakami founded in 2001.     Her artwork is influenced by Osamu Tezuka, erotic stamps of the Edo Period and books about the natural sciences she read growing up. She builds worlds that with a mythology that she has constructed over time, influenced by her life and experiences.     She uses many different mediums but prefers oil paints.       Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aya_Takano https://www.perrotin.com/artists/Aya_Takano/15#biography http://www.artnet.com/artists/aya-takano/...

I have a strange conflict when it comes to graffiti artists. I love graffiti but it belongs on the streets. I find the commodification of it problematic. Anytime I see a graffiti artist with a gallery show or a piece up for auction I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. Banksy is an artist that I often waffle on. He definitely has talent but there is so much hype around him. It is kind of like those bumper stickers you will occasionally see on minivans, “I used to be cool.” Graffiti is about being an outsider, a criminal, and once you are excepted into the fold it looses something. Twist (Barry McGee) has been accepted into the fold and I was always skeptical of him too. After reading an interview with him it turns out he struggled with the same issues. He said something along the lines of, for every gallery installation or piece he produces he feels like he has...