Acky Bright is one of the brightest stars in the art world, renowned for his intricate illustrations blending the aesthetic of Japanese pop art like anime and manga with more traditional disciplines of contemporary Japanese fine art and theater. His work is so detailed and distinctive, a fusion of cute and cool aesthetics often described as kawaiikakkoi, and art so singularly imaginative that I’d personally describe it as imackyulate!
Acky is best known as an illustrator and product designer; Americans may be most familiar with his recent collaboration with McDonalds for their WcDonalds campaign, designing original characters, illustrations, and even manga for them, as well as his covers for several DC Comics titles, a Squid Game coloring book for Netflix and YOASOBI x Vaundy Tiroli Mix collab art for McDonald’s Japan.
Acky is also a skilled performance artist, doing mutli-day live-drawing sessions at several events, including major recent U.S. conventions like Anime Expo and Anime NYC. During the latter event earlier this year, opening on the same night as the first-ever American Manga Awards, Acky debuted a special preview of his first-ever NYC exhibition, Studio Infinity, at the Japan Society in NYC.
The concept of Studio Infinity is to recapture the feeling of being inside Acky’s own studio-space and getting a peek into his creative process, as well as reflection on how his art has developed over the course of his career. The exhibition encompasses and spotlights a large breadth of Acky’s acclaimed oeuvre across two-rooms, which displayed Acky’s artbooks, comics, standees of his McDonald’s characters, fine art prints, and the main attraction, a glass screen on which Acky live-drew on during its opening nights, in addition to another live-drawing exhibition he did at his booth on the convention floor at ANYC.
We were fortunate to get to check out Acky Bright exhibition during its packed opening night during the afterparty of the American Manga Awards, and naturally, the majority of visitors were crowded around Acky live-drawing on the glass plane in the main exhibition room. Watching a skilled artist like Acky draw in the moment, in the zone, is always mesmerized and enrapturing, and you can’t help but be impressed, admire, and be awed at the precision of his brushstrokes and lines and the way he builds out such detailed and beautiful characters and illustrations transplanted from his imagination into our reality.
The Studio Infinity exhibit officially opened to the public on October 4th, 2024 and will run until January 19th, 2025. But if you missed your chance to watch Acky live-draw there during opening night, then you’ll definitely want to visit the exhibition between November 14th thru November 17th, where he’ll be at the gallery and once again be live-drawing a large manga-style mural! Getting to watch Acky live-draw is a rare in-the-moment treat, so if you’re in NYC make sure it’s a sight you’ll see! But don’t just take it from me, learn more about Acky Bright and Studio Infinity, including ticketing and visiting information, in the below press release from the Japan Society of NYC!
JAPAN SOCIETY ANNOUNCES FIRST NEW YORK SOLO SHOW FOR ACCLAIMED JAPANESE CONTEMPORARY ARTIST AND DESIGNER ACKY BRIGHT
ACKY BRIGHT: STUDIO INFINITY
OCTOBER 4, 2024 – JANUARY 19, 2025
IN-PERSON LIVE-DRAWING: NOVEMBER 14 – NOVEMBER 17
ARTIST WHO HAS WORKED WITH GLOBAL BRANDS INCLUDING McDONALDS, META AND DC COMICS FEATURED IN HIS FIRST SOLO NYC SHOW
New York, NY (July 31, 2024)—Japan Society, a 117-year-old nonprofit with a focus of bringing the U.S. and Japan together, today announced an exciting new exhibition spotlighting ACKY BRIGHT, a rising Japanese contemporary artist and designer beloved for his kawakakkoii (cute and cool) style of illustration and product design.
Acky Bright: Studio Infinity was conceived as the artist’s working design studio. The exhibition will offer visitors an exceptional opportunity to meet the artist, witness his freestyle “live drawing,” and participate in making a series of manga-style murals. Performative and interactive, the exhibition will evolve as Acky Bright makes intermittent appearances in the gallery.
In addition to Acky Bright’s ongoing mural drawing, the exhibition will showcase two new painting series by the artist, KBK-18 and Ah-Un, that each draw inspiration from traditional Japanese art and theater. Underscoring the impressive range of his contemporary art practice, the show will also highlight Acky Bright’s promotional campaigns designed for major companies, including his Squid Games coloring book illustrated for Netflix, WcDonald’s paper bags, and YOASOBI x Vaundy’s Tiroli Mix (McDonald’s Japan).
Acky Bright has collaborated with major artists and brands throughout the U.S. and Japan, his work has been featured in exhibitions in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Beijing, and his first artbook, B/W, was recently published by PIE International and is available around the world. In Japan, Acky Bright regularly collaborates with creators across media including the heavy metal band ASTERISM, and musicians YOASOBI and Vaundy. Outside of Japan, he has also collaborated with BMW Germany.
In the U.S., Acky Bright has worked with brands including Meta, Hasbro, and Netflix. Further, he is one of the very few Japanese creators who has done illustrations for DC Comics, and he is perhaps best known for the recent WcDonald’s campaign, an anime-inspired campaign by McDonald’s which featured Acky Bright’s illustrations in restaurants across the U.S. and around the globe. Original murals by Acky Bright are on display inside anime publisher Crunchyroll’s Dallas office and at Kinokuniya bookstore locations in Dallas, Atlanta and New York City.
“We are thrilled to hold an Acky Bright exhibition for the first time in New York City,” said Japan Society Senior Gallery Director Dr. Michele Bambling. “Japan Society has a long history of supporting rising stars and presenting innovative exhibitions. Having just arrived at the Japan Society as Gallery Director earlier this year, this show will present a future direction of the gallery as an experimental art and design space for both exhibitions and multimedia artmaking. The exhibition provides a platform for visitors and the artist to meet and create side-by-side. By collaborating with both Anime NYC and Kinokuniya bookstores, we extend our reach beyond the walls of the gallery, elevating Acky Bright’s engaging profile.”
“Through so much of my career, I have built bridges between my home in Japan and individuals, artists and organizations around the world,” said Acky Bright. “My goal of connecting Japan with the world is very much also Japan Society’s mission, and I’m humbled for my art to be featured here for my first exhibition in New York. I hope many people, both young pop culture fans and older art connoisseurs, can enjoy my work and appreciate all the effort I have put into it.”
Tickets for the Acky Bright: Studio Infinity are free for Japan Society members, as well as patrons with disabilities and their accompanying personal care assistant. Tickets are $12 for nonmembers and $10 for seniors and students, with an additional $1 service fee applied on all non-member ticket types. Limited edition t-shirts designed by Acky, as well as tote bags, will also be available for purchase. For more information on tickets please visit japansociety.org/gallery.
Acky Bright: Studio Infinity is open Thursdays & Fridays between 11am-7pm, Saturdays and Sundays 12pm-7pm, and is free to enter on every first Friday of the month between 7pm-9pm (next such dates are 12/6 and 1/3). Acky’s live-drawing performance will be conducted between November 14-17 during regular opening hours on each day.
Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, one block from the United Nations and minutes from Grand Central Terminal, in New York, NY.
For more information, please follow Japan Society on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. For more information on Acky Bright: Studio Infinity, please visit https://japansociety.org/gallery/acky-bright-studio-infinity/. For more information on Acky Bright, please visit www.acky-bright.com.
ABOUT JAPAN SOCIETY GALLERY
Since 1971, Japan Society Gallery has been the premier institution in the United States for the display and interpretation of Japanese art and culture in a global context. Through groundbreaking exhibitions and related programs, the Gallery cultivates a broader understanding and appreciation of Japan’s contributions to global artistic heritage; explores the artistic interconnections Japan shares with Asia, the U.S., Latin America, and Europe; and celebrates the diversity of Japanese visual expression from prehistoric times to the present day.
ABOUT JAPAN SOCIETY
Japan Society is the premier organization connecting Japanese arts, culture, business, and society with audiences in New York and around the world. At Japan Society, we are inspired by the Japanese concept of kizuna (絆) – forging deep connections to bind people together. We are
committed to telling the story of Japan while strengthening connections within New York City and building new bridges beyond. In over 100 years of work, we’ve inspired generations by establishing ourselves as pioneers in supporting international exchanges in arts and culture, business, and policy, as well as education between Japan and the U.S. We strive to convene important conversations on topics that bind our two countries together, champion the next generation of innovative creators, promote mutual understanding and serve as a trusted guide for people everywhere who seek to appreciate the rich complexities and abundance of Japan more fully. From our New York headquarters, a landmark building designed by architect Junzo Yoshimura that opened to the public in 1971, we look forward to the years ahead, which will be defined by our digital and ideational impact through the kizuna that we build. Our future can only be enhanced by learning from our peers and engaging with our audiences, both near and far.
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Anime NYC is the official media partner of Acky Bright: Studio Infinity.
Japan Society programs are made possible by leadership support from Booth Ferris Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Exhibitions and Arts & Culture Lecture Programs are made possible, in part, by Sompo Holdings, Inc.; the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund; the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; The Masako Mera and Koichi Mera, PhD Fund for Education and the Arts; Peggy and Dick Danziger; and Friends of the Gallery. Support for Arts & Culture Lecture Programs is provided, in part, by the Sandy Heck Lecture Fund. Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor for Japan Society gallery exhibitions.
