Hely Norton started her gallery HANGA TEN in 1998 following a five-year long stint in Japan where she worked for the largest selling exhibition of contemporary Japanese prints.
HANGA TEN (which, the way it is written in Japanese, means “shop for creative prints”) is the only art dealer in Europe specialising exclusively in contemporary Japanese prints. These prints are original works of art, not reproductions, and almost all are hand-printed by the artists themselves.
HANGA TEN represents about 25 artists. They are either Japanese artists or foreign artists who have lived and worked in Japan for many years. Some of the artists are internationally well known and are represented in important collections, while others are new talents at the beginning of their careers. One thing they all have in common is the originality and quality of their work, a result of the artistic traditions and disciplines of Japan and the artists’ technical excellence.
In Hely’s own words:
‘My path to becoming an art dealer has certainly not been straight forward. I have always been interested in the arts and even as a teenager was fascinated by Japan. When we moved back to London (after a five-year long stay in Japan), I felt the time had come to turn my interest into something more concrete and started HANGA TEN in 1998.
It is very important for me to know “my” artists well and to follow their development over time. In fact, I have known most of them for over twenty years. Having said that, there are occasions when I spontaneously buy a print simply because it is exceptionally beautiful or interesting. This of course also goes for new talents where I hope a relationship will develop over time.
Contemporary Japanese prints are not well known in Europe (but I am working on it!). Since opening the gallery I have written several articles and given talks about contemporary Japanese prints. To introduce them to a wider audience, I also regularly exhibit at art fairs. In May 2010 I decided to cut back my time commitment and closed the gallery space in Fulham in London to focus on special projects.’
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