Bio

A rebel with a cause—painter, sculptor, artivist, mother, child advocate, and lifelong lover of the arts.

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, and raised in San Francisco, Urban Envy creates “tradigital” mixed media and AI-driven portrait paintings that explore memento mori, identity, and resilience. Her practice bridges the tactile and the technological, blending traditional drawing and painting techniques with digital tools and AI-driven processes to create layered, emotionally charged narratives that reflect both the past and the future of art.

Her artistic foundation is rooted in contrasts. Growing up in Japan, she was captivated by the Renaissance and European academic masters, whose precision and grace inspired her early love for drawing and painting. Later, as a teenager in California, the raw energy and defiance of American rock, punk, and hip-hop left a lasting mark, shaping the rebellious and expressive undertones of her art.

In 1999, she founded AlterAsian, one of the first alternative Asian-American web magazines, recognized in 2000 by A-Magazine: Inside Asian-America as one of the “Top 20 Asian-American Websites that Stand Out From the Crowd.”

In 2000, she established Urban Envy Custom Art Studio, specializing in original art, portraiture, digital-enhanced concepts, and design solutions for artists, non-profits, and small businesses.

Her collaborative and experimental spirit has led her to co-create and support influential art movements and organizations, including:

• The Federation of East Village Artists (FEVA) (2003), celebrating New York’s counterculture legacy through the annual HOWL! Festival.

• New York Tributary (2005), a collective uniting disciplines through performance, digital media, and process-driven art.

• Project 2020: Suzie Wong (2006), an activist art initiative using mixed media and digital storytelling to challenge racism, stereotypes, and the image of Asian women in mainstream America.

Now based in San Francisco, Urban Envy continues to create mixed media, AI-assisted, and digital fine art, exhibiting in local galleries and completing numerous private commissions. Her work reflects her lifelong commitment to art as a vehicle for both personal expression and social change, while embracing the evolving possibilities of technology and AI in contemporary art.