Takano Aya

Born in Japan in 1976, Aya Takano is a painter, illustrator, sci-fi writer and manga artist. Soon after obtaining her art bachelor degree, she became an assistant of Takashi Murakami and joined Kaikai Kiki, the artistic community and production studio created in 2001 by Takashi Murakami for like-minded artists that adhered to the the Superflat style. The Superflat movement, popularized by Murakami himself, emphasizes the two-dimensionality of figures, which is influenced by Japanese manga and anime, while dually exposing the fetishes of Japanese consumerism. In the 1980s, the look of pre-pubescent girls became the target of consumer culture in Japanese society. This infantilization and objectification of the female was seen most heavily in Japan's “otaku” culture. With this reference in mind - inspired by a wide range of influences ranging from erotic Edo prints to Gustav Klimt, from the manga of Osamu Tezuka to Claude Monet - Aya Takano describes naïve and androgynous teenager girls, creating her own mythology where the otaku culture is revisited in a feminine perspective. Her original style is highly acclaimed both in Japan and worldwide and led her to solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Holland, Hong Kong, Korea among others.

Bring energy and an array of welcome colors and textures into your space by decorating with figurative fine-art prints and works on paper.

Figurative art stands in contrast to abstract art, which is more expressive than representational. The oldest-known work of figurative art is a figurative painting — specifically, a rock painting of an animal made over 40,000 years ago in Borneo. This remnant of a remote past has long faded, but its depiction of a cattle-like creature in elegant ocher markings endures.

Since then, figurative art has evolved significantly as it continues to represent the world, including a breadth of works on paper, including printmaking. This includes woodcuts, which are a type of relief print with perennial popularity among collectors. The artist carves into a block and applies ink to the raised surface, which is then pressed onto paper. There are also planographic prints, which use metal plates, stones or other flat surfaces as their base. The artist will often draw on the surface with grease crayon and then apply ink to those markings. Lithographs are a common version of planographic prints.

Figurative art printmaking was especially popular during the height of the Pop art movement, and this kind of work can be seen in artist Andy Warhol’s extensive use of photographic silkscreen printing. Everyday objects, logos and scenes were given a unique twist, whether in the style of a comic strip or in the use of neon colors.

Explore an impressive collection of figurative art prints for sale on 1stDibs and read about how to arrange your wall art.