Nana Takano (b. 2000, Gunma, Japan) is an artist who graduated with a Bachelor’s in Studio Art from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, USA. She was born and raised in the countryside of Gunma, Japan, and studied abroad when she was fifteen years old. She has been studying abroad in the United States for over seven years. During this time, she attended Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, for three years. Her mother, being a photographer, has led Takano to be interested in art since she was young. In college, she explored the media of printmaking, digital media sculpture, and handmade papers. Now Takano is pursuing an MFA in Book Art at the University of Iowa at the Center for the Book.

My current art depicts Japanese culture through an Americanized lens. I am intrigued by creating artwork that allows the audience to reflect on their feelings, and experiences at the same point in their lives. Japanese text in my artwork is essential. It is not represented directly, but abstractly, for the English audience. What is beautiful about this is that it leads the audience to feel the shapes of the language and draws attention to the story of the art that I am creating. I primarily work with paper instruction artwork. In addition, I am exploring letterpress, silkscreen printing, and bookbinding to create additional elements for my artistic practice here at UICB.