Ryu Takahashi and Jenny Hata Blumenfield

Bio

ATLA was founded in 2022 by Los Angeles–born ceramic artist Jenny Hata Blumenfield and NY/Tokyo-native curator Ryu Takahashi—a husband-and-wife duo with deep cultural ties to Japan. Beginning as an itinerant curatorial project, ATLA has since grown into a permanent gallery space in Los Angeles operating outside of the mainstream contemporary art system.

Grounded in cross-cultural dialogue with ceramics as a central metaphor for the intersection of Eastern and Western ideologies, ATLA was founded to address the urgent need for cultural preservation while creating an accessible point of entry.

The name “ATLA” pays tribute to the Japanese word atara, which evokes the melancholic feeling that arises when a beautiful object or tradition is no longer recognized or celebrated. This sensibility lies at the heart of ATLA’s mission: to honor and uplift culturally resonant, handcrafted works through thoughtfully curated exhibitions, research, and community engagement.