Paintings Fujimura's works have been exhibited in major museums and galleries around the world, including the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, Israel, the U.K., China, and Hong Kong. In 1992, at the age of 32, Fujimura became the youngest artist ever to have a piece acquired by the
Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. He has collaborated with
Susie Ibarra on multiple occasions, and his live painting in 2009 was recorded by Plywood Pictures in "Live in New York: Susie Ibarra + Makoto Fujimura"; his live painting in 2021 was documented by Windrider Productions. In November 2009, Fujimura's works were coupled with works of
Georges Rouault at Dillon Gallery. Fujimura created several new works in homage to the 20th-century master. His "Twin Rivers of Tamagawa" (Collection of Tokyo University of Art Museum) was included in the Panasonic Museum exhibit "Rouault and Japan" in 2020. In 2023, Fujimura's exhibition, "A Gaze Traverses Time and Space: Dialogue between Makoto Fujimura and Chinese Ancient Porcelain", at C3M Museum on the Bund in Shanghai, China, featured 17 paintings by Fujimura and 13 pieces of Chinese imperial porcelain. In October 2023, Fujimura opened an exhibit of his paintings titled "My Bright Abyss: Paintings and Prints" at the Bradford Gallery at St. George's Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN in partnership with Covenant Presbyterian Church (Nashville) and Liturgy Collective. In 2011, Fujimura founded the Fujimura Institute in honor of his father
Osamu Fujimura, a scientist. As the first project, the Fujimura Institute launched the Qu4rtets, a collaboration between Fujimura, painter Bruce Herman, Duke theologian/pianist
Jeremy Begbie, and Yale composer
Christopher Theofanidis, based on
T. S. Eliot's
Four Quartets. The exhibition travelled to
Baylor University,
Duke University, and
Yale University,
Hong Kong University,
Cambridge University,
Gordon College,
Roanoke College, and other institutions around the globe. The Qu4rtets became the first contemporary art exhibited at the historic King's Chapel in Cambridge, UK, for the Easter of 2015, and was exhibited in
Hiroshima for the 70th anniversary of the
atomic bombings in November 2015. He is represented in Asia by Artrue International. His works are in permanent collection at the National Modern Museum of Art in Tokyo,
Yokohama Museum of Art, Tokyo University of the Arts Museum, the Saint Louis Museum, the Cincinnati Museum, and the CNN building in Hong Kong, and other museums globally. Tikotin Museum in Israel hosted a solo exhibit in 2018 curated by James Elaine. In 2009, Crossway Publishing commissioned Fujimura for The Four Holy Gospels project to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the publishing of the
King James Bible. It was the first time that a single artist had been commissioned to
illuminate the four Gospels in nearly five hundred years. The Four Holy Gospels consist of five major frontispieces, 89 chapter heading letters and over 140 pages of hand illumined pages, all done in traditional
Nihonga. The Gospels were on exhibition at the Museum of Biblical Art in Manhattan, and were on display in
Takashimaya,
Nihonbashi, Tokyo in 2011. The Four Holy Gospels original art were exhibited in "Four Holy Gospels Chapel" at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. in 2018.
Writing, appearances and speeches ceramic art during a speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, London, November 2023.Fujimura is an author of several books including Art+Faith: A Theology of Making
(Yale U. Press, 2021), Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art and Culture
(NavPress, 2009), and Culture Care
(IVPress, 2020). In 2016, Fujimura released Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering'' (IVPress), an autobiographical journey into
Shūsaku Endō's
Silence. His public speaking has made the artist notable outside of artistic circles. Fujimura has given at least five Commencement Addresses, including Judson University address "Kintsugi Generation". His 2011 Commencement Address at
Belhaven University has been selected by NPR as one of the "Top 200 Commencement Addresses Ever", and in 2021 by CNN as one of 16 top addresses, "From Obama to Steve Jobs: The greatest commencement speeches of all time". He also appeared at the inaugural
Alliance for Responsible Citizenship in London in late 2023, speaking on
kintsugi, abstract art, and his cultural vision for the world. Fujimura was featured in
PBS's
American Masters episode "Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous" (2019) as the only living artist commenting on
Mark Rothko's paintings. In 2023, upon request by Christopher Rothko, Fujimura wrote the afterword for republication of ''The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art'' (Yale U. Press, 2023), a collection of writings by
Mark Rothko.
Film Fujimura served as a special advisor to the major motion picture
Silence (2016) by
Martin Scorsese based on
Shusaku Endō's
Silence. In 2010, Fujimura made his on-screen debut with commentary in the documentary
The Human Experience. His mid-career retrospective catalogue
Golden Sea (Dillon Gallery Press) was released in 2013 with essays by Daniel Siedell, Roberta Ahmanson, Nicolas Wolterstorff, and others.
Golden Sea includes a full documentary of the same title by Plywood Pictures. In 2017, Fujimura served as an executive producer of a short film
Abstraction: Dianne Collard Story, a finalist at the Heartland Film Festival.
Career In 1991, Fujimura founded IAMCultureCare, formerly known as the International Arts Movement. He has co-hosted several major conferences for the International Arts Movement, including Culture Care Summit (February 8–12, 2017, at
Fuller Theological Seminary). He has lectured at
U.K. Parliament,
Stockholm School of Economics, the
Aspen Institute,
Hong Kong University,
Bucknell University,
Cairn University,
Gordon College,
Grove City College,
The King's College,
Princeton University,
Yale University, and has been a keynote speaker in various arts, academic and business conferences. From September 2015 to January 2020, Fujimura was the Vision Director of the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary. ==Recognition==