Yoskay Yamamoto

I spent quite a bit of time browsing through Yoskay Yamamoto's portfolio yesterday, and am quite taken with his artwork, particularly his sculptures, many of which he creates from a combination of hand carved bass wood and mixed media components. I especially like that all of his many figures - regardless of whether they're meant to evoke people, animals, cartoon characters, or even moons and planets - all seem so expressive. They're objects with narratives, regardless of whether they've been placed in a specific environment or not, as with his equally fantastic installation work, or even his paintings; it's no surprise to me that he began his career as an illustrator. As Yamamoto's bio explains:

Born and raised in Toba, Japan, Yoskay Yamamoto moved to the United States at the age of 15. A self-trained illustrator, Yamamoto's artistic tastes expanded as he fell in love with the urban culture of the West coast. Yamamoto discovered a way to fuse the two different cultural backgrounds together into his work. Yamamoto nostalgically blends pop iconic characters from his new Western home with traditional and mythical Japanese elements, balancing his Asian heritage with urban pop art.

See more on his website.


(Via The Fox Is Black)