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Mitsuya Watanabe’s Drawings Play with Surreal Juxtapositions in “Immaculate Eve”

Mitsuya Watanabe's new drawings take on an almost collage-like effect. The artist draws lightly shaded forms with graphite that contrast strongly with their dark backgrounds. Some of the figures have white outlines around them, flattening the scene and making them look like cut-outs, which adds to their surreal, dreamlike quality. Watanabe has a solo show coming up at Hellion Gallery in Portland titled "Immaculate Eve," opening on May 7. A series of new drawings filled with floating objects and bizarre juxtapositions, Watanabe likens these works to interpretations of dreams.

Mitsuya Watanabe’s new drawings take on an almost collage-like effect. The artist draws lightly shaded forms with graphite that contrast strongly with their dark backgrounds. Some of the figures have white outlines around them, flattening the scene and making them look like cut-outs, which adds to their surreal, dreamlike quality. Watanabe has a solo show coming up at Hellion Gallery in Portland titled “Immaculate Eve,” opening on May 7. A series of new drawings filled with floating objects and bizarre juxtapositions, Watanabe likens these works to interpretations of dreams.


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