Profile

Akiko Kato is a London-based sumi-ink painting artist, book cover designer, and paper craft artist.

After working as an editor for an educational magazine in Tokyo, she moved to London on her own and earned a BA in Typography from London College of Communication, University of the Arts London.

Akiko has since pursued a wide range of creative work, including branding, packaging design, and handmade crafts. In recent years, she has been focusing on book cover design for a renowned British publishing house.

A sudden wave of nostalgia for the scent of sumi-ink from her childhood calligraphy classes - and for the imperfect and irreversible beauty that cannot be captured and expressed digitally - led her to explore the world of ink painting.

As she continues to study traditional techniques, she also seeks ways to interpret them through a modern lens. Deeply inspired by nature, she is drawn to the challenge of expressing the invisible through her art.

Her ongoing fascination with the way people and cultures connect across boundaries is a key source of inspiration in her creative journey.

ロンドン在住の水墨画家、装丁家、グラフィックデザイナー、ペーパークラフト製作家。

東京で教育誌編集者を経て単身ロンドンに渡り、美大のタイポグラフィ科を卒業。

その後、英国の出版社にて本の装丁を中心に、パッケージデザイン、ディズニーの工作模型製作など幅広いクリエイティブ活動を続ける。

ふと幼い頃通っていた書道教室の墨の匂いと、デジタルでは表せない瞬間の不完全な美が懐かしくなり、水墨画の世界へ飛び込む。伝統の技法の一つ一つを習得しながらも、それを現代に応用した表現を模索。自然を敬い、目に見えないものを捉えて表すことへの可能性を感じて、日々製作に励む。

人や文化が「境界線を越える」過程に惹かれ続けていることが、創作の原動力となっている。