AYA KAWABATA

 

ABOUT
Aya is a designer, and artist from Tokyo, Japan. She currently splits her time between her job in NYC and travelling to speak at design festivals throughout Europe.
Her work has been shown at Milan and Paris design week, London Design Festival, ICFF NYC, and Tokyo Design Week. She was also featured by Vogue Magazine UK, Maison&Objet Paris, Textiel Plus Netherlands and more.
More recently, her work was received Gold awards from Graphis international design competition 2023 and 2022.

Finalist for addition to the permanent collection of the Cranbrook Art Museum in Michigan and the Stedelijk Museum in the Netherlands.
She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art where she developed her style and approach to design - combining the modern and traditional. Her second major was architecture which also gives her a deep understanding and perspective on spacial design. From ages 3 to 18 she studied classical violin; this early and extensive study of music continues to be a big influence on her process. While growing up in Japan, her hobbies included Japanese fencing, and the philosophy and practice of the traditional tea ceremony.

recognition

  • New York Times

  • VOGUE, UK

  • AIGA Eye on Design

  • Salone del Mobile in Milan Design Week

  • INTEL

  • Graphis

  • Adobe Creative Jam Designer

  • USA Today

  • DesignBoom

  • Tokyo Newspaper

  • MoMA PS1 Art book fair

  • MAISON&OBJET

  • Paris Design Week

  • Art Basel

  • The One Club

  • IKEA

  • Melcedes Bentz show

 

SELECTED Awards

  • Graphis Poster Annual (N.Y.) 2023 —Gold

  • Graphis Poster Annual (N.Y.) 2023—Silver

  • Graphis Poster Annual (N.Y.) 2022—Gold

  • Finalist at Design Anthology Award 2019

  • Graphis Poster Annual 2018

  • Winner “SILVER" in A' DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION ” 2017

  • Winner “best new talent 2016 Gold" the DMY Berlin International Design Festival.

  • One Show, Merit 2017

  • Chosen to attend SaloneSatellite in Salone del Mobile in Milan design week as founder of Studio Aya Kawabata Design. selected as a best new designer 2017 by LUXUS magazine in Milan 2017

  • Designer of the year, niminated by A'Design Award, Italy 2017

  • 27th Brno Biennial

  • AIG AWARD TOKYO 2018

    

PRESS

  • AIGA EYE OF DESIGN interview

  • LUCSUS Designer Interview best 4 young designer ‘17

  • IDEA design magazine Japan

  • VOGUE UK

  • DOMOS Magazine interview

  • Meson et objet Fall Winter collection, Paris

  • Textile plus, Cover, and intereview, NL

  • Graphis Design Blog

  • City like you

  • TL Mag article about Aya Kawabata

  • Tokyo News Paper

  • New York Times

  • A/D/O by Mini BMW

 

TV, INTERVIEW, Talk

  • NYC x DESIGN, design pier panel discussion

  • German RBB news— winner interview

  • Musashino Art University Special lecturer for Design department

  • Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts Adjunct instructor for Design department

  • Kunitachi Music University / interview

  • Nippon TV — DMY winner interview in Berlin

  • Tokyo Design week— designers interview at ICFF NY

  • Yomiuri TV Japan —document Aya Kawabata

  • DMY Berlin International design Designer Talk lecture

  • DMY Berlin young new talent talk

  • Panel discussion with Industry plus, Suzu Annetta, Editor-in-Chief of Design Anthology

 

PRESS

  • New York Times

  • USA Today

  • AIGA EYE ON DESIGN

  • Design boom

  • Tokyo News Paper

  • Tokyo cable TV show

  • GetBuzzLSN

  • Global Interview

  • TL mag

  • A/D/O by Mini BMW

  • the face

  • Domus

  • designdomus

  • Yellow Trace

  • Cranbrook Museum

  • Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD)

  • Italian Fashion and Textile magazine.

  • Yellowpage

  • NuzzelLokerdome

  • THINKDO3GROUP

 

EXHIBITION

2019

  • Edge Walkers Exhibition Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art — Virginia, U.S.A.

  • Z33 “Dissidence” residency and show — Hasselt, Belgium

  • International Design Fair IFFS as Design Stars 2019 — Singapore

  • London surface design show as New Talent 2019

    — London, UK

  • NYC x DESIGN 2019 design pier at Usagi NY gallery— NY, U.S.A.

2018

  • Solo exhibition, Usagi gallery — ( Dec.2017 - May 2018 ) NY, U.S.A.

  • Condizione with PRADA architect Roberto Bachiocchi at Paris Design Week 2018 — Paris, Fr.

  • NYC x DESIGN 2018 Design Pier "Unknown Territories"— NY, U.S.A.

  • IAG AWARD SHOW 2018, Tokyo Japan

2017

  • Meet My Project Paris Design Week, Paris, France

  • A’ Design Award Winners show — Como, Italy

  • AK Gallery —Berlin, Germany

  • Satellite, Salone del mobile—Milan Internationale Design Week, Milan, Italy

  • SIANY—NY, USA

  • Art Basel—HK

2016

  • London Design Week — UK

  • Hongkong Design Week— HK

  • 27th Brno Biennal — Brno, Czech Republic

  • Design week—Brussel, Bergium

  • DMY Berlin International design — Berlin German

2015

  • StereoType, The New School Persons — NYC, U.S.A.

  • MoMA PS1 Art Book Fair — NYC, U.S.A.

  • Salone del Mobile in Milan — Milan, Italy

  • Mercedes-Benz Show — MI, U.S.A.

  • Cranbrook Art Museum — MI, USA

  • The GrandParis Design Festival— Paris, France

–2014

  • Mercedes-Benz Show — MI, U.S.A.

  • Museum of Contemporary Art — MI, U.S.A.

  • CHICAGO EXPO, Navy Pier — Chicago, U.S.A.

  • Liminal Space’s first exhibition — Chicago, U.S.A.

  • StereoType: Typography, BSA space — Boston, U.S.A.

  • Forum Gallery, Cranbrook Academy of Art — MI, U.S.A.

  • Image of the Studio, Cooper Union — NYC, U.S.A.

  • Design Festa — Tokyo,Japan

  • Selected young artist, Sankei Building — Tokyo, Japan

  • Shimokitazawa live painting — Tokyo, Japan

  • TAU Graphic Design Selected Works — Tokyo, Japan

 

CREATIVE DIRECTION

  • Condizione with PRADA architect Baciocchi Associati— Milan Italy .

  • Meet My Project Paris Design week— Paris, Fr.

  • Design Pier NYC x DESIGN, — NYC, USA

  • VIA gallery, Paris design week — Paris, Fr.

  • Design Pier, Art Basel, ZUMA, HK — HK

  • Usagi, HongKong Design Week, HK — HK

MUSIC - violin

  • Concertmaster (The first chair violinist of an orchestra ) / Limited special youth orchestra presented by Wiener Pholharmoniker

  • Kunitachi College of Music国立音楽大学 ( from Age of 6 to 18 ) Classical Music / Violin depertment

  • Tokyo University of the Arts 東京芸術大学 / Bach Kantate Club / violin player

  • RYUICHI SAKAMOTO 坂本龍一 / NHK

  • -ALTAN

  • -STUDIO GIBLI MUSEUM スタジオジブリ美術館

  • -Hawaii Youth Symphony Orchestra / Solo player / 1st violinist