Father-son art duo channel work through Japanese heritage
Joel Nakamura and his son, Kai, have been doing art for years. For both of them, it's a passion they find relief in.
Joel Nakamura and his son, Kai, have been doing art for years. For both of them, it's a passion they find relief in.
Joel Nakamura and his son, Kai, have been doing art for years. For both of them, it's a passion they find relief in.
Joel Nakamura and his son, Kai, both have a passion for art. It’s something they say runs in the family -- and their Japanese heritage plays a big role in some of the pieces they’ve created.
“It's a cool connection to have to pursue. Like with my dad and my grandpa,” Kai said.
Originally from Los Angeles, California, Joel said his inspiration for art started at a young age. Any gallery or sculpture he came across fascinated him.
Now, like the stroke of a paintbrush, he never knows what direction his art will go.
“It's always changing,” Joel said. “I never know what I'm going to be painting about.”
Trading the palm trees and ocean breeze for the mountains and southwest sun, he settled in Santa Fe.
Joel has artwork up at the Pop Gallery in Santa Fe. Some of his work is also displayed at Harry’s Roadhouse and Santa Fe Bite. He’s contributed his art in a variety of ways like at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
“There was energy and synchronicity and things here that I didn't have in L.A,” Joel said.
However, in life, there is never an easy path for anybody. As a child, Joel faced discrimination for his Japanese heritage.
“Around Pearl Harbor Day, you know, were some kids decided that I personally bombed Pearl Harbor, you know, as an eight-year-old kid or something,” Joel said.
His father, Yoshio Nakamura, was one of many to be put in internment camps during World War II, eventually becoming part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team for the U.S. Army during the war. Stories of the challenges Yoshio and Joel faced are things Kai said inspires him.
“It's definitely cool, like hearing, like, his stories and hearing my grandpa stories about like, how they dealt with, like, like racism and stuff like that,” Kai said.
Joel’s father, Yoshio, will be honored in June at the World War II Museum in New Orleans for his service in the war.
Joel connects his art to his Japanese heritage. From Godzilla, Japanese yokai, to dragons. The decades-long artist and illustrator strives to improve his work in new ways. He says the local art scene and environment play a role in that.
“I like the challenge of having a problem to solve and or something new to learn about,” Joel said. “Everything I've ever seen or been has a way of leaking into the artwork that I do.”
He said one of his greatest achievements is having his art portrayed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Joel hopes his passion will leave a mark in the land of enchantment with a unique story behind every painting.
In addition, the artist owns the Kaiju Aikido Dojo in Santa Fe. He also has an NFT collection dropping later this summer.