Sakura Alta

Cherry blossom trees, or "Sakura", arrived in the U.S. as a gift of friendship from Japan in 1912. For a few short weeks each year, they take over. The design began as a splattered painting on an icy winter night, right after a long, mind-numbing trainer session. That feeling of being stuck inside, waiting for the season to turn, is baked into it. Everyone says they look forward to spring. Cyclists treat it more like something owed to them. In New York, the first cherry blossoms in Central and Prospect Park mark that shift. After months of cold and grey, it feels like seeing color for the first time. The surface is built from layered splatter and gesture. Loose black lines move across a field of soft blues and washed color, with splatters of white and pink as the petals. The blossoms come and go so quickly each year. This is our way of holding onto that moment and carrying it with us a little longer.