Akihiro Nishino, First Solo Exhibition in New York, Feb 16-18, 2013
Exhibition: Feb.16, 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM, 2013
Opening reception: 5 pm – 9 pm, 2013
Dates: Sunday Feb 17th 11:00 am – 6:30 pm / Monday Feb 18th 11:00 am – 6:30 pm
Japanese comedian and TV host Akihiro Nishino brings the original artwork from his magical picture books to New York for his first solo exhibition in the city. A member of the Yoshimoto Kogyo comedy duo King Kong, Nishino created the picture books Dr. Ink’s Starry Sky Cinema, Zip and Candy: The Robots’ Christmas, and Music Box World, receiving critical acclaim in Japan. To hold this special limited viewing at One Art Space, Nishino raised more than $40,000 through a crowdfunding website, and the artist is genuinely appreciative of this opportunity to show his work to a Western audience.
Nishino’s drawings have the appearance of woodblock prints, with layers of thick lines drawn in stunning detail. Nishino says it takes one month to complete one drawing, and to compile a book takes the artist up to three years.
If you’re interested in his work, this is an amazing opportunity for people who don’t read Japanese to immerse themselves in Nishino’s stories. The original artwork from one or two chapters from each of his books is displayed at One Art Space downtown with English text underneath each panel. His latest book, The Music Box Planet, has Japanese and English text as well.
But time is running out! His exhibition ends Monday, February 18, so you have from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. to be amazed by this artist’s immense talent. We know you have the day off for Presidents’ Day, so no excuses!
Dedication, skill and creativity are three words to describe comedian and artist Akihiro Nishino’s (above) pen illustrations. Traveling the world for inspiration, Nishino spends months at a time crafting each of the drawings that end up becoming his beautifully illustrated books. This past weekend, for the first time, Nishino travelled with his work to the USA to show off his trademark hyper-detailed art at One Art Space in New York City.
The sheer amount of stuff in each of Akihiro Nishino’s drawings is shocking. Done tirelessly with a .03mm pen, each picture has so much work put into it that you can stare at any given panel for half an hour without fully grasping everything that is happening inside it. When asked, Mr. Nishino noted that he goes through hundreds per pens per book, and that the best time for him to use a pen is when it is on its last legs and produces even finer lines than intended. Amazingly, like a high resolution photo, when blown up to several times their size, his work does not lose clarity and even looks better in a large format.
– solifestyle.com
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