​​Sculptor Ken Hiratsuka was born in 1959 in Shimodate City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. ​He graduated in 1982 from Musashino University of Art in Tokyo. In the same year, Hiratsuka came to New York City, received a fellowship from the Art Students League, and embarked on his life's work of carving one continuous line in stone around the world. Committed to art for everybody, Hiratsuka began sculpting the slate and granite sidewalks of New York City, becoming a figure in the Street Art Movement of the 80s.

    ​​Driven by his vision of art’s capacity to transcend the differences of nations and languages, Hiratsuka’s work can now be seen in permanent public sites in both urban and natural environments in 21 countries to date. His work is included in museum collections in Finland and Japan. Commissioned works include sculpted city sidewalks, building facades and entranceways, water sculptures, and gardens. Public monuments include his 12-boulder “Peace Monument” for the Japanese Gardens of Cowra, Australia; “One Line Tower”—40 tons x 30 ft. high—in Yuzi Paradise Sculpture Park in Guilin, China; “One Line Boulder,” a 2004 commission for the city of Chikusei, Japan; and “River,” a 100-ft.-long carved granite sidewalk at 25 Bond, NYC.