Sakura, a recurring motif in Japanese art, is a way for Obata to assert his individuality. “My favourite flower is the cherry blossom,” says Obata, who represents a 400-year-old legacy. He ...

A quiet Japanese town with a population of less than 20,000, Arita has been creating one of Japan’s most prestigious exports since the 17th century.

And as a bonus, they collaborated with an artist who used the resulting ceramic tiles to create a unique art exhibit at the NUS Museum—a striking merger of science and art.

Thanks to a grateful alumna from the class of 1949, Scripps College and the affiliated Claremont Graduate University are getting $4 million in dough to benefit art students learning to work with clay.

Art, says New Zealand-based Jun Arita, is not about the money, it's about making connections and creating something meaningful.