Ushiki Masanori: Visitors

posted by Robyn Pitts June 18, 2019

Tokyo based illustrator and artist Ushiki Masanori’s debut European exhibition is taking place at Pocko Gallery this summer. Ushiki is a rising star with the ability to capture aspects of anime, manga and Tokusatsu (live-action anime). He re-mixes these elements into a fantasy world of creatures that delight the eye and tickle the senses. His sophisticated linework and monochrome palette capture the preposterous with a complex elegance.

After graduating from Musashino Art University drawing school, Ushiki worked for a stationery company, a web production company, and eventually found himself as an illustrator and artist. He has created a diverse body of digital and analogue work. Each visual expression, ranging from the humorous to the fashion-inclined, is tailored to the times and media of today.

Visitors is an ongoing series of portrait characters by Ushiki which was born on his Instagram timeline in August 2016. He faithfully continues to post a new character once a day, every day. “I spend roughly 30 minutes to an hour each day sketching impromptu, an anime character or superhero that inspired me as a kid. I then digitise this expression to convey the spontaneous energy that went into it” says Ushiki.

Visitors reflects his aesthetic which centres around diverse themes of childhood and contemporary media. From sci-fi monsters to beautiful angry alien girls, Visitors pays tribute to the many expressions and characters the artist met throughout his youth, and familiar hallmarks from popular culture that resonate with our collective consciousness.