I swear the next post will be art related. But seriously this is dope.

Thanks Jagi.

Ballpoint pen artwork by Shohei Ōtomo, son of legendary Katstuhiro Ōtomo.

Check out more at Shehei’s site here.

Click images to enlarge..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqaXxSBZTZc&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] [dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x39w0e_urotsukidoji-extrait-francais[/dailymotion]

Otomo Yoshihide and Yasutomo Aoyama

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4TclxEtQ20&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8AdMuuDMj4&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Here’s some photo’s grabbed from the blog-o-sphere of a Baseball bat exhibition that launched in Tokyo on the 22nd.

63 bats, 59 artists. On show at B1 Cafe.

Adb/AKIM/AMES/ARAI/BASK/Belx2/BEN MORI/BONBONCASPER/DEM/DEXTER/DICE/DISKAH/Dopesac/ESOWHUZE/JOE/jota/JUN/MARIE/KW/KAMI/KANE/KE/KRESSKUNI/ImSS/MAY/MYST/NAOMI/NEIM/NESM/NIS/Nofm/PAIONE/QP/RACK/RAME/ROM/SASU/
SECT/seki/松竹梅/snipe1/SUIKO/TOMY/VALUDAS/VERYONE/VIX/WANTO/YOTA/YUJI/ZEN/ZYS and more……
From Yuri Shibuya’s blog, Hellorahs flickr and AMG

OGI a.k.a Ryuichi Ogino solo Exhibition.

” Idealistically Hypocritical 2 ” at Amp Cafe , Tokyo

Ryuichi Ogino is born in Tokyo in 1978. He grew up surrounded by Japan’s pop culture (anime / manga such as Gundam and Nausicaa, video games like Final Fantasy series, and all kinds of related merchandises, as well as; mostly imported from the US, fashion and music). Most notably, snowboarding, a trend well packaged and marketed as an alternative lifestyle, made a huge impact on Ogino, that it became his primary reason to go study in Colorado after finishing high-school in Japan.

Ogino attended a language school, then a college in Denver, CO. Then he moved to Oakland, CA to study at CCA (California College of the Arts). He graduated CCA majoring in Illustration in 2004, though around this time, he begun to question the gap between fine arts and illustration. His examination, along with the shift in his thought process – from seeking originality elsewhere to finding original voice through introspection – led him to realize that his passion is not in illustrating.

Upon his return to Tokyo in 2005, he quickly begun to see hyper-consumerism and its lack of context within as two major issues among Japan’s contemporary youth culture. And to counter those issues, he started to create art works that are based on “Out of the Context Mash-up” For instance, Ogino has been presenting triptych paintings in which each three panels represents different context of visual communications such as minimalism, pop culture, and decorative pattern. By intentionally placing different context right next to each other, Ogino tries to bring contrast between those contexts, asking viewers to reexamine them.

For more check http://www.ogigraphics.com/

A traditionally trained Japanese calligrapher Miyamura Gen has developed the ancestral techniques into his own expression of minimal abstraction in which textural motif interplay within sweeping movements to create the most impressive, minimal yet most undeniably hardcore style.

For more check Gens’ site

1000 x 1530 – Flame – 2008

700 x 1400 – Reverberation – 2008

700 x 1400 – Black vestige – 2007

100 x 700 – Subjet – 2007                                                    100 x 200 – Soak – 2007

1000 x 2100 – Foura – 2004

I recently met Gen through his collaborative work with Tokyo designer Shun Kawakami whose work is also well worth checking out.

Mhak is a Tokyo based artist who exemplifies his generations love of abstract artwork, creating pieces and installations which interact with their environments. In Tokyo Mhak is everywhere, both in person and in his artist presence. Having recently returned from his successful solo show in Argentina, i’ve been very lucky to hang out with him. A great guy, a great artist and designer.

Check some of his work below. And his site here.