Aug 27, 2009

The Fall Season Opens Soon...




LeBasse Projects presents:

'Softly Encompassing the Womb'
New work from Edwin Ushiro

'Idealistically Hypocritical 3'
by Ryuichi Ogino in our project room

Artist reception: Saturday, September 12th, 7 to 10pm
Music and Beverages sponsored by DailyduJour

Los Angeles, CA - LeBasse Projects proudly presents the return of artist Edwin Ushiro to the gallery with a new solo exhibition, Softly Encompassing the Womb. His latest collection of multimedia paintings will be complemented by that of fellow Japanese artist Ryuichi Ogino, whose Idealistically Hypocritical 3 is featured in the gallery's project room.

Whereas his last foray with the gallery, 2008's While Tides Guide You Back Home, was a bittersweet homage to his native Hawaii, Ushiro's new works continue to use childhood memories as a main source of inspiration, this time with a more distanced perspective as he tangles idealized tales of his own adolescence with fantasy and folklore. Concentrating on his years in intermediate school, this series introduces a cast of characters modeled after real fixtures of Ushiro's past. Woven into the dreamlike scenarios he illustrates is imagery from ghost stories the artist encountered and relished in this period of his youth. The result is a collection of work that is decidedly darker and more mature than others in his repertoire.

While both artists take inspiration from Japanese anime, Ryuichi Ogino keeps the focus on Pop Art, creating work that is more conceptual than figurative. Ogino's artwork ranges from whimsical to edgy with a nod to Takashi Murakami's postmodern 'Superflat' style. The latest of his ongoing series, Idealistically Hypocritical 3, combines elements of modernist illustration, text, sculpture and installation.

2 comments:

Heidi Alamanda said...

That image is just so stunning and has soothing effect on me.

scott belcastro said...

Those guys rock !