Aoi Yamaguchi walks barefoot over the paint-splattered cloth covering the floor of Space Gallery in San Francisco's Nob Hill. Using two thick brushes, she stirs dark, onyx-colored ink in a mixing bowl.

Behind her, DJ Yusai spins an instrumental version of John Lennon's "Imagine" as Yamaguchi bobs her head to the beat. The room is full of people, and she seems to ready herself for a moment before hurling her body towards the large white canvas before her, reaching above her head to press the brushes down against the wall. Moving to the music, she makes thick, short strokes before crouching to make longer ones as the ink drips down the canvas. In a matter of minutes, she's done. The message that emerges is one she says expresses her goal of bridging cultures and her admiration for nature and life's relationships.

Next to Yamaguchi, her barefoot comrade, Yasushi Matsui, or Noa- (Nature of Art, hyphen), rocks his wiry frame across the canvas, creating large circular strokes over her calligraphy. It may look like he's ruining the piece, but he's actually taking it from traditional to modern by implementing both bright colors and his street style. When he's done, several other artists approach the canvas, each adding color and shape until the piece transforms into something totally new. Yamaguchi steps up to the canvas once again and adds little bursts of calligraphy to the collaborative painting. The concept of this main event is simple: fuse the artists' creativity into one unit while drawing inspiration from the music and the crowd.

At twenty-four, Yamaguchi is a master of Japanese calligraphy, a humanities major at SF State, and a ball of energy. She has a creative mind and a whirlwind of ideas. One of these was the Japanese artist collective, Surreality in Reality (SIR), organized in February of last year. She brought the group of twenty-five together by calling up every artist she had ever collaborated with. Prior to coming together as SIR, all of the members had become masters in their respective crafts, including painting, illustrating, filmmaking, beatmaking, photography, and textile work. Their style is experimental but balanced, with a precision that comes from years of art school or self-disciplined mastery. All are Japanese natives in their twenties who now reside in the Bay Area, and are interested in breaking the standard mold of their culture by fusing Japanese aesthetics with American individuality and reinventing modern Japanese art in the process.

The group's name was inspired by the theme of their first show--the idea that there is a surrealistic atmosphere hidden in the harsh reality of everyday life. Although originally meant to be a one-time union, the artists bonded quickly.

"[At the beginning] I didn't expect this group of artists to continue [doing] art shows...but I believe that there was some chemical among us," says Yamaguchi. "After the first show, everyone wanted to have another...[to] continue working with each other as a crew, or some sort of movement."

"America is about individualism," says Yamaguchi. "In Japanese culture, it's all about harmonizing with other people, so we can't stand out from the crowd as a society. But now it's kind of changing because a lot of younger people want to be different."

The five-year U.S. resident is a rare commodity in the art world--she's a young, contemporary Japanese calligrapher. She keeps the ancient art alive by showcasing her art at exhibitions, often using branches and flowers as brushes as well as painting on clothed people. At SIR's shows, you'll usually find her drinking Red Bull or beer, and wearing avant-garde outfits that include head-wraps and fedoras along with slouchy, off the shoulder dresses.

Noa- is Yamaguchi's copilot, organizing the group's finances and finding them places to work. The hyphen in his street name signifies the connection he wants to make with other people through artistic expression. At twenty-six, he looks like a guru--with a sprouting goatee and long black hair tucked under a beret. He wants to leave a cultural footprint for aspiring street artists, the way he says well-known artists like David Ellis and the Barnstormers in New York have done for him.

Even though some artists, like Yamaguchi, have had little trouble finding venues to show their work, many have had a hard time connecting with the right people. Surreality in Reality is working to create the type of network that gives newly arrived Japanese artists the opportunities they need. In the five years Noa- has been live painting in San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, he hasn't seen up-and-coming artists get many chances to show their artwork.

"Young artists, like me, don't have a place to show right now. There is not a way to get into the community..." he says. "It's mostly big [names] in art exhibitions. [SIR] is the first step for young artists to learn how to make money and communicate with other artists. It is a self-teaching place."

A photographer for high-end skateboard companies like Volcom, Ken Goto faced the ups and downs of being an unconnected artist in a new country when he moved to the Bay Area from Japan twelve years ago. As a friend of some of the group's members, he sees how a collective like SIR can pave the way for fresh talent and admires the creative environment they foster.

"I think it's cool that Japanese people are getting together and doing their own thing," says Goto. "Sometimes it's hard for them to come out here and express themselves because of the language barrier. Having a group that's already networking helps. I just want to link to other people. Lines can make anything. I want to make more interesting lines like nobody can do. I want people to copy my style...and turn that into the newest culture."

SIR has produced four exhibitions at the Space Gallery, one per season over the last year. The last few shows were packed with over three hundred people. Yamaguchi is one of the group's main attractions--her live painting with Noa- draws in a lot of the visitors. Sometimes the group members invite well-known Japanese artists who have not yet made a name for themselves in America, to join in on its live painting sessions. Last year, they invited the painting duo, Gravity Free, to their Sai exhibition to contribute to their live painting piece. Another attraction of the Sai showing was the group's pre-made art, which ranged from textile work by Hiroko Tsuchimoto to the short films of Yoshinori Kataok, based on solid imagery and an abstract use of sound.

For members, the show is not about promoting Japanese culture--it's about broadening cultural scopes. "Since I've been living in the United States, a lot of people have had a limited view of Japan," Yamaguchi says. "I thought I could project more of an authentic [representation of] Japanese culture or art." Group member Junko Maegawa, a graphic designer who specializes in corporate identity and designs the group's promotional material, hopes that by coming to their shows, people will be exposed to Japanese artists that exist outside of the icons of their pop culture--like Bape clothing, sushi, Gwen Stefani's Harajuku girls, and anime...especially anime. "This event is not necessarily about promoting the Japanese-ness," she says. "Of course all of the members are Japanese, but people who come to the show might find something different than they thought they would."

SIR's next show, Hella Logos!, is on Friday, April 24, at 8 p.m. in the Space Gallery of San Francisco. Group members welcome you with free admission and will showcase its logo design contest. It is a twenty-one and over event. Check out www.sir-sf.com for further information.