TALKS+

Paul Barbera graduated from Australia’s Victorian College of Arts in 1994 in his home city of Melbourne, and has since then traversed the globe with his photography. With work spanning from cultural anthropology all the way to luxury living, his style can only be seen as observational reportage. Avoiding technical arrangements, Barbera opts for natural light, allowing him to capture complex emotions through a voyeuristic perspective.



Regularly commissioned throughout Asia, Europe and Australia, Barbera's work has been published in high-end publications Vogue Living, Elle Decor, Bon Appetit Magazine, Frame, Martha Stewart and Lucky Magazine. His clients include Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Starbucks and Bugaboo. He has been featured in The New York Times, The Paris Review and Forbes. Barbera lives in New York.



Hiroko Takahashi, artist, studied at Tokyo University for the Arts in the Department of Crafts, completing her Master’s in Fine Arts in dyeing and weaving in 2002 and her PhD in 2008. In 2005 she was invited by Culturefrance to participate in the Cité Internationale des Arts artist-in-residence program in Paris, and in 2006 she founded her company, Takahashi Hiroko Inc. (formerly Hirocoledge Co., Ltd.). A hallmark of her work is the use of patterns consisting of only circles and straight lines.



Masashi Kawamura is Executive Creative Director and Founder of the Creative Lab PARTY NY. He was previously a Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy New York, and has worked around the globe in different agencies such as BBH New York and 180 Amsterdam, creating numerous award-winning ad campaigns. Outside of advertising, he continues to explore the world of design and interaction, working on music videos, product design, social apps, among other endeavors. Masashi’s work has been recognized in international awards such as NY ADC, Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD, Annecy Animation Film Festival, and more. He was recently chosen as one of the Creativity magazine’s 2011 Creative 50, and Fast Company’s “100 most creative people in business 2012.” Kawamura was born in Tokyo, and raised in San Francisco.



Qanta Shimizu is Chief Creative Technical Director of PARTY NY. While studying at the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law, Qanta started working on desktop publishing programs at a design studio in Tokyo. He joined IMG SRC inc./NON-GRID inc. in December 2005 and started to focus on interactive production. Since then, as a creative director/technical director, he has been planning content and producing work in a variety of fields ranging from websites to digital signage. In November 2009, he joined the board of IMG SRC inc. So far, he has won awards internationally, including Gold at the Cannes Lions, a Grande at Adfest, and a Gold Pencil at the One Show Interactive.



Matthew Waldman is perhaps best known for his fashion brand, NOOKA, where he designed accessories, and watches that reinvented how time was told – turning the universal constant into something that could be intuited rather than having to be taught. Matthew was also responsible for NOOKA’s award winning package design, where he focused on eliminating waste through origami-inspired design and the use of eco-friendly materials. Before NOOKA, Matthew Waldman gained recognition as a pioneer in digital interactive and UX design, founding New York Zoom in 1997, and then taking those skills to build an award winning global team at Reuters as their creative director from 2002-2005. Matthew also continues to run his interactive design studio, Berrymatch, where he focuses on cutting edge branding for tech start-ups.



Heather Corcoran is a freelance writer and editor with a focus on the intersection of art, design and culture at large. Her work can regularly been seen in Dwell, Artsy.net, Time Out New York, Cultured and a variety of other publications. She has also contributed to more than a dozen books, including ART+NYC and Cool Japan, published by Museyon Guides.

Peek into the inner sanctums of some of Japan’s leading creative minds—from all-star architects like Toyo Ito and Tadao Ando to visionary design studio Nendo and internationally acclaimed artist Mariko Mori—with globe-trotting photographer. For his most recent volume in his Where They Create series, Barbera visited the studios of artists, architects and fashion & product designers throughout Japan to capture the environments where they create their groundbreaking designs. Praised for their authenticity and warmth, Barbera’s intimate portraits of these spaces provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative processes of Japan’s top talents. Join us for a talk on the stories behind the studios and a panel discussion with artists & designers featured in the book, including(Executive Creative Director) and(Chief Creative Technical Director) of creative lab PARTY NY, artistand fashion designer. Moderated by art and design writer. Followed by a reception.: $13/$10 Japan Society members , seniors and students