Kathy Fujii-Oka was born in Berkeley, CA. She earned her BA degree from UC Berkeley in Art Practice with honors. As a third generation Japanese American, she explores her Japanese heritage through the eyes of a Sansei. Her interdisciplinary work investigates themes of immigration, culture, identity, the Japanese incarceration, social justice, and spirituality, which has become a birthplace of healing as her emotional voice and ancestors find expression. She expands on her spiritual process and practice of meditation, which assists her to make art that heals. Drawing upon her childhood memories and research, she shares intimate and heartfelt narratives of the past and present, which often include her family and pets.
Fujii-Oka's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in California and across the US to New York City. Her work is in many private collections. She has exhibited in New York City, at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the MONCA Museum in Chico, and several galleries to date. She is currently creating new work about Japanese historical themes of women and life in the natural world, as well as her ongoing series on the Japanese incarceration during WWll, As a a strong advocate for change and social justice, she seeks to educate and inspire by sharing her ancestor's stories through her art.
Fujii-Oka's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in California and across the US to New York City. Her work is in many private collections. She has exhibited in New York City, at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the MONCA Museum in Chico, and several galleries to date. She is currently creating new work about Japanese historical themes of women and life in the natural world, as well as her ongoing series on the Japanese incarceration during WWll, As a a strong advocate for change and social justice, she seeks to educate and inspire by sharing her ancestor's stories through her art.
CV
2026
Legacy, Kisune Studio/Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA
We are America, Atelier for Healing, San Bruno, CA
Perch, Flutter & Soar, MONCA, Museum of Northern California, Chico, CA
Refuge lll, (Traveling exhibition) Luna Gallery, San Juan Bautista, CA
Refuge ll, Artists of Asian Heritage, Center for Creativity, Redwood City, CA
2025
Saari Baat, Untold stores of resilience, Lindsay Dirkx, San Ramon, CA
Refuge 1, API Asian American Heritage, Kitsune Studio-Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA
2024
Art in a Changing World, Belvedere Tiburon Library, Tiburon, CA
I AM, SF Woman Artist's Gallery, SF, CA
2023
Madame Butterfly Collection, SFWA Gallery, SF, CA
120 Years of Advocacy, National Nurses United, Mosconi Center, SF, CA
DeYoung Open 2023, The De Young Open 2023, De Young Museum, SF, CA
Jade Wave Rising, Portraits of Power, SOMArts Gallery, SF, CA
2022
Open Circle, Lindsay Dirkx Gallery, CA San Ramon, CA
From Resistance to Remembrance, AZ Gallery, San Bruno, CA
Dollhouse, Arc Gallery, SF, CA
2021
Sparcx, Arc's 10 Year Anniversary Exhibition, Arc Gallery, SF, CA
City, Scapes, Land & Sea, SF Woman Artist's Gallery SF, CA
2018
Solo - Ocean series, Rosenblum Cellars Gallery, Jack London Square, CA
Year of the Dog, Chinese Cultural Center, SF, CA
Message in a Bottle, Palace of Fine Arts, Juried, SF, CA
2017
Solo- Birds of a Feather, Rosenblum Cellars Gallery, Oakland, CA
2016
Identity, Arc Gallery, SF, CA
Transformation, Harrington Gallery, Pleasanton, CA
2015
Solo - Oceanscapes, Firehouse Arts Center, Pleasanton, CA
Running with Scissors, Art on 30th, San Diego, CA
Everybody's Ocean, Santa Cruz Museum of Art, Santa Cruz, CA
2014
Our American Stories, Madeleine Hass Russell Gallery, SF, CA
2013
Solo - Nature Paintings, Addison Windows, Berkeley, CA
Group Exhibit, Luggage Store Gallery, SF, CA
Visual Harmoney, Village Theater Art Gallery, Danville, CA
2012
Day of the Dead, SomArts, SF, CA
40 Watts NCWCA, Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA
One Year After Benefit, Mission SJ, Fremont CA
2011
Solo - Ki, 2223 Restaurant, SF, CA
Day of the Dead, SomArts, SF, CA
Visual Arts Showcase, City Hall, SF, CA
Serenity Winter, UCSF Womens Health, SF, CA
2010
Place of Her Own, Driftwood Salon, San Francisco,
Re-Claim, SomArts Cultural Center, S.F.
March, Vita Art Center- Ventura
Yearning to Breathe Free, USF, School of Law, S.F.
2009
Hybridity- SomArts Cultural Center, SF, CA
AWAA Group Residency Workshop at De Young Museum, SF, CA
Transformation, Brava Theatre, SF, CA
2008
Family Day, AAWAA Artist Demo, De Young Museum, SF, CA
2007
Dyslexic Cake, Worth Ryder Gallery, UC Berkeley, CA
2006
Fired at Davis, Ceramic exhibit, UC Davis, CA
Ceramic Dept. Group Show, Worth Ryder Gallery, UC Berkeley, CA
2002
Small Works, Atlantic Gallery, NYC
Broom Street Gallery, NYC
2001
Two Person Exhibit ,Atlantic Gallery, NYC
International Women Artists, 1 Market Plaza, S.F. CA
1999
Solo - Kingyo, Yamagami's Nursery/Gallery, Cupertino, CA
Licensing
2023
Madame Butterfly Collection - Seven images licensed for Puccini's Madame Butterfly Opera along with Chiura Obata, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Performance & Presentations
2024
Sansei Granddaughter's Shiminawa Rope-Obon Performance, Tule Lake, CA
2022
Sansei Granddaughter's, California College of Arts, SF, CA
2018
Sansei Granddaughter’s Film Documentary, Jsei, Emeryville, CA
Sansei Granddaughters, Ephemeral Glimpses Behind the Barbed Wire, Manzanar, CA
Publications
The Ark, Tiburon, Diane Smith 2024
Jackson Hole News & Guide, Richard Anderson 2023
ABC 7 News, Interview 2022
The San Mateo Daily Journal 2022
KPFA Women’s Magazine 2022
Nichi Bei Weekly, Derek Tahara 2022
Entanglements, Nanette Wylde 2022
Arc Gallery, Catalog 2022
Arc Gallery, Catalog, 2021
SF Lawyer 2010
Internation Women Artists, Volume2 2001
Affiliations
Sansei Grandaughters' Collective, 2018 to 2025
AAWAA Asian American Women Artists Association, SF, CA, 2008 to 2025
Education
AA, De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
BA Arts – Art Practice, University of California; Berkeley, CA
