Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Cost: FEW Members ¥2,000 / Guests ¥5,000 (supper and drinks included)

Venue: Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ), Yurakucho Denki Building, 20th Floor (map)

Topic: The FEW Bonenkai 2004 is shaping up to be a great party on December 9th! We'll celebrate the holidays with FEW members and with non-members. In other words, bring your friends and spouses - even the men! This year, the Bonenkai will be a fundraiser for "The House for Women Saalaa", a FEW-supported unique community for women here in Tokyo. The Bonenkai will also feature an exhibition and sale of the works of celebrated fiber artists, Shoichi and Colleen Sakurai. Don't miss this incredible exhibition!

FEATURED ARTISTS AT THE FEW BONENKAI 2004 PARTY

"Some call them lamps. Their creators call them "illuminated" sculptures. Tokyo based artisans, Shoichi and Colleen Sakurai, apply sculptural sensibilities to the art of creating subtle sources of light with handmade paper, elegant design and "found" materials. In doing so, they perform a delicate dance between form and function".
L.A Times Review, 1999

In FEW Bonenkai 2004 party, we are proud to feature the works of celebrated fiber artists, Shoichi and Colleen Sakurai. Their "illuminated" sculptures reflect the artistry and quiet elegance of traditional esthetics blended with modern idiosyncratic touches, creating vessels of light so organic, so "alive', that they almost seem to take on a life of their own.

Colleen, originally from Southern California, traveled the world as a Jazz singer and ended up in Tokyo with a keen eye for design and a deep love for washi. A true renaissance man, Shoichi has always been driven by the need for self-expression and exacting taste. From hair, clothing to club interiors, he has shown an immense talent for design and execution. Ironically, Shoichi's appreciation for washi and "all things Japanese" grew with his love for Colleen.

They both met in Tokyo in a club where Shoichi was managing, and were married eleven months later in Los Angeles. Searching for "paradise", they both quite their jobs and traveled extensively throughout Asia, returning to Japan with an entirely fresh outlook and renewed appreciation for Japanese culture and craftsmanship and a burning desire to create something of their own, together.

According to the L.A Times Review, "Their work, whether in the functional mode of sculptural lamps or art for art's sake, suggests a cross-cultural aesthetic venture. Eastern circumspection and economy meets the Western anything-goes attitude. The aesthetic equation works nicely."

Contact: few@gol.com

No advance reservation required.