Zen Sekizawa

I’m a Los Angeles-based photographer, director, and multidisciplinary artist whose work drifts between the documentary and the surreal. As a second-generation Angeleno and fourth-generation Japanese American, my practice navigates the intersections of art, politics, and community care—transforming everyday moments into something uncanny and poetic. My work spans editorial, fine art, film, and collaborative design, including the fine art book You and I See Why (Hesse Press), the furniture collective Mano Ya, and visual creative direction for chef Niki Nakayama of the Michelin-starred n/naka. I’ve had the opportunity to work with clients including Apple, Cadillac, Corona, Elle Magazine, Facebook, Google, The Hammer Museum, IBM, Jaguar, Jimmy Choo, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Modelo Especial, Microsoft, MTV, Mute Records, Netflix, The New Yorker, Nike, Puma, Reebok, Samsung, Sephora, Sonos, Sony, T-Mobile, Target, Vans, Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, and Xbox. I’m currently in production on my first feature-length documentary—a layered portrait of The Atomic Cafe, my family’s legendary punk-era haunt in downtown L.A.—tracing the reverberations of archive, memory, and lived experience. I’m also an active organizer with J-Town Action and Solidarity, collaborating with community groups such as We the Unhoused and Chinatown Community for Equitable Development.