About the Artist:

Yasuo Araki was born in Yamanashi, Japan in 1939. He graduated from Musashino Art College, Tokyo in 1964, where he studied drawing, painting, graphic design and art history. Yasuo immigrated to Canada in 1968, and has actively exhibited his work in Vancouver since 1970. He has held one man shows and participated in group shows all around the Lower Mainland of Vancouver, Japan, Seattle, Washington USA , totalling in over eighty art shows.

1989-Present
OWNER, Araki Gallery International Inc. Vancouver, Canada.

Artist's Statement
When I was six, my family and I fled from the hell that rained down from the B-29 bombers. My war time experiences led me to peace making efforts at a grass roots level. For me, this means communication with people through my art. I use motifs such as stars, sun and the moon often because every living thing is a part of the universe. I also use music as a symbol of the good in human nature. I would like to end with a quote by Mr. Daisaku Ikeda, President of the Soka Gakkai International, who has been actively promoting peace around the world for the last 60 years.

"Art is a flower of culture.
The beauty of this flower universal in it's appeal, acts to open up
people's lives and bring them closer together...
Art is the light of humanity. The splendor of life itself is the source of creativity...
Art is a mirror which reflects the era, the creation of great art
causes civilization to flourish."