Having spent 24 years of his life in the United States since childhood, MADSAKI relocated to Tokyo in 2004, starting his career from scratch. Today, he stands as one of the Tokyo’s most iconic artists. His journey—creating something original out of nothing—embodies the very concept of NOTHINGNESS.
In this interview, we gained exclusive access to MADSAKI’s Tokyo-based studio, the core of his creative practice. We spoke with him about the evolution of his work, the ideas behind it, and why he continues to call Tokyo home.
MADSAKI’s Studio of Nothingness,
Where Art Is Born in Tokyo
Having spent 24 years of his life in the United States since childhood, MADSAKI relocated to Tokyo in 2004, starting his career from scratch. Today, he stands as one of the Tokyo’s most iconic artists. His journey—creating something original out of nothing—embodies the very concept of NOTHINGNESS.
In this interview, we gained exclusive access to MADSAKI’s Tokyo-based studio, the core of his creative practice. We spoke with him about the evolution of his work, the ideas behind it, and why he continues to call Tokyo home.
I think it was just rare to meet someone who had lived in the U.S. that long, so people were kind of curious about me.
YouYou moved from New York to Japan in 2004, but were you already thinking about pursuing art in Tokyo at the time?
Not really. I wasn’t as serious about art back then. I was more like—just going with the flow. I already knew it wasn’t going to be easy making a living through art.You know I was working as a bike messenger in New York, right? At the time in Japan, when people thought of bikes, it was mostly road bikes—guys in those tight spandex outfits. But I was riding this weird fixed gear bike in Dickies, and people were like, “Wait, can you ride like that?” and “What, no brakes?”
Profile
MADSAKI
Artist. Born in Osaka in 1974, MADSAKI moved to New Jersey in 1980. He graduated from the Parsons School of Design (Fine Arts) in 1996. While working as a bicycle messenger in New York, he continued to create art, eventually returning to Japan in 2004. His bold spray works explore themes rooted in a complex identity shaped by life in both Japan and the U.S. He has held solo exhibitions not only in Japan but also internationally.
https://www.instagram.com/madsaki/
https://gallery-kaikaikiki.com/category/artists/madsaki/
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– You moved from New York to Japan in 2004, but were you already thinking about pursuing art in Tokyo at the time?
Not really. I wasn’t as serious about art back then. I was more like—just going with the flow. I already knew it wasn’t going to be easy making a living through art.You know I was working as a bike messenger in New York, right? At the time in Japan, when people thought of bikes, it was mostly road bikes—guys in those tight spandex outfits. But I was riding this weird fixed gear bike in Dickies, and people were like, “Wait, can you ride like that?” and “What, no brakes?”
– That fixed gear scene ended up kicking off a whole boom in Japan, right? And soon after, you were suddenly hanging out with people like Hiroshi Fujiwara, Jun Takahashi (UNDERCOVER), and YOPPI—basically all the icons that everyone in Tokyo street culture wanted to meet at the time.
Yeah, I think it was just rare to meet someone who had lived in the U.S. that long, so people were kind of curious about me. Honestly, I didn’t even know who they were when people first introduced me. Later people would be like, “You know that person’s a big deal, right?” and I’d just go, “Oh, really?” Maybe that actually helped, though. I had no preconceived notions—so I just talked to them as people, without any idea of what they did or how famous they were. So before anything art-related, I actually got media attention for that.
