“PHILOSOPHER”: This work by Minako Ota is featured in her exhibition of marine creatures and other nature paintings, on view at Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, through November 1.

Marine creatures and other nature paintings by an award-winning Japanese painter Minako Ota are on display at Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, through November 1. It is her third show at this venue.

Born in Osaka, Japan, Ota studied traditional Japanese painting at Tama Art University in Tokyo. Upon graduation, she attended Cambridge University in England where she focused on Western painting conservation.

Since she left her native country some 30 years ago, she has immersed herself in Western cultures in the U.S. and Europe. Her artwork is a cultural hybrid between Japan and the West, as she combines Western painting techniques that she learned through her 20-plus years as a professional painting conservator and the traditional Japanese aesthetics that she grew up with.

More information can be found at minako-art.com.