all images courtesy the artist | used with permission
Erica Ward is a California-born ink and watercolor artist who has called Tokyo her home for over 10 years. Inspired by Japanese designs and imagery, as well as the ever-changing landscape of Tokyo, Ward reinterprets everyday sights and objects in surreal ways within her artworks, asking the viewer to consider the mundane daily objects in their surroundings as things of beauty and symbols of culture. Spoon & Tamago spoke to the artist about her newest pop-up exhibition, currently on view at Daikanyama T-Site Tsutaya Books .
The theme of the pop-up is, “The City is a Living Thing” (この東京（まち）は生き物), which is also the title of Ward’s newest artwork created for the pop-up: the cityscape of Tokyo, which appears to grow and thrive on the backs of two goldfish. The artwork echoes the themes of movement and life that run through Ward’s larger body of work; where vending machines, street signs, and local flora often transform into expressive, character-like forms.
I feel that, beyond the activity of its millions of inhabitants, the City itself seems to have a life of its own and I express that in some of my works by combining the cityscape with living things, almost like a representation of the “spirit of the city”.
In a previous series called “Miyabori,” Ward expresses gratitude for the objects that do us service in our daily life by imagining them adorned them with delicate wood carvings similar to those seen at shrines and temples. In a more-recent series called “Yamanote Bonsai,” the artist painted each station of Tokyo’s Yamanote Line as a bonsai.
The city, like bonsai, grows and changes over time, so I wanted to create a visual metaphor that hopefully will inspire people to look at the scenes of Tokyo as living art.
Ward’s 2013 work, “Metro” is available at the pop-up as both a poster and small print.
If you’re in Tokyo, definitely check out the pop-up, which runs through August 12, 2025 and features a wide range of Ward’s signature watercolor and ink artworks, including a selection of original pieces, prints, postcards, and her latest art books.
