Noted public sculptor and longtime professor of art Kinji Akagawa creates places for contemplation; his best known work might be the serene spot offered in “Garden Reading, Seating, Thinking” in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center. Kinji chooses native wood and stone to realize his response to the site and purpose of his work. Working on a more intimate scale, Kinji has created shelf-like pieces based on Japanese tokonoma structures, intended to honor friends with the display of symbolic objects.

The artist, who was born and raised in Japan, came to the United States to attend Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield, MI and received his MFA from the University of Minnesota. Kinji spent 40 years in teaching; so embedded is this experience in the artist that, on the occasion of his retirement from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, he requested an exhibition of his students’ work, declining a solo show. Recognized in 2007 with the McKnight Foundation Distinguished Artist Award, Kinji now devotes his time to completing commissions and exploring new forms. He and his wife, fiber artist Nancy Gipple, live and work in Afton, MN.

In January 2011, Kinji was featured on the tpt series MN Original. Watch the video here.