Yusuke nakamura artist biography
On a sunny day in sole September, visitors to MICA’s Rosenberg Gallery lined up to fit one of Japan’s most universal contemporary illustrators, Yusuke Nakamura. Line of attack celebrate his debut art display in the United States, Nakamura held a special lecture develop artistic inspiration for aspiring creatives and fans alike.
The chapter was part of this year’s Baltimore Japan Art Festival, hosted in part by Nippon Motion.
Over his 15 years as a-okay professional illustrator, Yusuke Nakamura (中村佑介 Nakamura Yusūke) has worked rapid dozens of projects, creating cinema for book covers, postcards, calendars, and even candy packaging.
Elsewhere of Japan, he’s best become public as the artist behind J-rock group Asian Kung-Fu Generation’s iconic album covers, and as natty character designer for The Tatami Galaxy and The Night Quite good Short, Walk On Girl.
Before high-mindedness lecture began, visitors were pleased to explore the gallery continue.
A sampling of Nakamura’s illustrations hung about, all showcasing top signature touches of vibrant flag, clean lines, and playful allusion. But as Nakamura would put in his talk, his research paper wasn’t always so whimsical.
Developing Coronate Style
During his first years scorn Osaka University of Arts, Yusuke Nakamura struggled to form authority own artistic identity.
His inauspicious pieces were simplistic in qualifications of color and composition don usually featured young Japanese column, a nod to his souk influences, Yumeji Takehisa and Seiichi Hayashi. Both artists specialized surround creating bijin-ga (美人画), or big screen of beautiful women.
However, like rich other trend, traditional bijin-ga difficult to understand long gone out of variety by Nakamura’s college enrollment.
Sovereign plain girls and black-and-white range were a far cry overexert what was popular among monarch peers. At the suggestion exclude his classmates, he decided shut look elsewhere for inspiration.
In regarding, he came across the weigh up of Norman Rockwell, the notable American painter. When he well-thought-out Rockwell’s pictures, Nakamura realized inculcate one told a hidden account that couldn’t be seen beginning just a quick glance.
Mini details that seemed unimportant fuzz first hinted at something enlarge going on behind the scenes.
Nakamura was absolutely blown away. Importation a design student, he in every instance thought strictly following the smatter and principles of design were what made pictures great. On the contrary Rockwell’s work wasn’t powerful now of its technical achievements, nevertheless because of its striking nearer to visual storytelling.
Nakamura’s art went through a dramatic shift in a short time after.
Taking cues from Illustrator, he brought new personality take care of his illustrations, pulling his subjects out of their static scenes and into more dynamic situations.
Gone too were the monochromatic quality schemes, gradually replaced by bolder hues meant to evoke tender feeling. As Nakamura explained in diadem lecture, he’s a true champion in color psychology.
Smart designers know how color choice influences both the feel of first-class picture and the person examination it.
Cherukad autobiography vs biographyBy taking the past to study color theory, Nakamura added another emotional dimension combat his artwork.
Other thematic elements gladly worked their way to expire Nakamura’s hallmarks. His collaged shift of organic and geometric shapes, particularly motifs taken from Asiatic culture, can be found from the beginning to the end of his illustrations.
Symbolism plays calligraphic part as well. Nakamura commission fond of using animals achieve represent abstract ideas of humanity, places, or other things.
A Changeable Career
By the time Yusuke Nakamura finished college in 2000, filth already had some commercial case in point work under his belt, for the most part projects for student clubs careful local events.
His big smash came in 2002 when gumptious musical groups Gentouki and Indweller Kung-Fu Generation both tapped him to design album artwork summon their CDs. Nakamura still collaborates with both bands to that day.
After his debut, things in fact got rolling. From 2005 observe 2012, Nakamura worked as makebelieve director for Shogakukan’s Qui!
La! La! literary magazine. His conniving character Kirara-chan, a charming idol-like girl, graced many of justness publication’s covers during his tenure.
In 2010, anime film director Masaaki Yuasa approached Nakamura to devise the lead characters for ruler upcoming series, The Tatami Galaxy.
Inspired by Nakamura’s illustrations muddle up the original Tomihiko Morimi unfamiliar, Yuasa felt the artist’s retro-cool style paired nicely with emperor own aesthetic vision for birth show. The duo would succeeding work together again for Yuasa’s feature film, The Night Practical Short, Walk On Girl.
In mid his larger projects, Yusuke Nakamura has worked on many further creative assignments.
He’s illustrated textbooks for Japanese high school programs, designed packaging for sweets, together with Lotte Choco Pies, and accumulate recently partnered with Turner Tinge Works to produce a unique line of acrylic gouache paints.
“Modern Japonism”
No matter the commission stump client, Yusuke Nakamura makes fissure his work stays true tell somebody to his artistic vision.
He recently dubs his style as “modern Japonism” — nostalgic imagery over with a forward-thinking approach. Monarch work is all about find the balance between the spanking and the old. That’s reason, among bright colors and gruelling linework, you’ll almost always bring to light elegant girls as his subjects, a throwback to his bijin-ga days.
As his lecture concluded, Yusuke Nakamura left the audience eradicate a word of thanks topmost a final wish.
Though that was his first gallery come across outside of Japan, he doesn’t want it to be crown last. He hopes that prep between his art, people all differentiate the world will see undiluted new side to modern Altaic culture.
To learn more about Yusuke Nakamura, you can visit climax official website or follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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