Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Takahiro Hirabayashi’s Haunting Mixed-Media Portraits

Takahiro Hirabayashi is trained in traditional Japanese painting, but in his mixed-media work, he applies these age-old techniques to contemporary portraits with a sci-fi element. Hirabayashi's characters seem to inhabit a world in decline. In many of his paintings, they appear with blood-like stains running from their mouths, and their skin often looks cracked to expose ripe, pink flesh. They seem to be disintegrating before our eyes, and the traces of their carnivorous feasts left on the front of their shirts hint at their desperation to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

Takahiro Hirabayashi is trained in traditional Japanese painting, but in his mixed-media work, he applies these age-old techniques to contemporary portraits with a sci-fi element. Hirabayashi’s characters seem to inhabit a world in decline. In many of his paintings, they appear with blood-like stains running from their mouths, and their skin often looks cracked to expose ripe, pink flesh. They seem to be disintegrating before our eyes, and the traces of their carnivorous feasts left on the front of their shirts hint at their desperation to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
It was just last year that Henrik Aa. Uldalen painted a mural on a massive building for a street art project called Ugangprosjektet in Drammen, Norway. Days ago, the artist posted a photo of the piece being destroyed on Instagram. Several of his followers offered their condolences and outrage in reaction to seeing the elegant, dramatic portrait demolished. Words like “heartache” and “crushing” were used; sad emojis rampant. But here’s the thing: Uldalen not only knew this would happen to his work, he counted on it.
In the recent paintings of Jenny Morgan, the artist continues to create penetrating portraits that are both vulnerable and surprising in her choices. The artist’s foundational excellence in realism is enhanced by her subversions of hues and form. Morgan was featured in the cover story for Hi-Fructose Volume 39.

Keyes

With wildly varied takes on the natural world, painters Josh Keyes and Lisa Ericson bring two separate shows to Thinkspace Projects in Culver City. Keyes was last mentioned on HiFructose.com here, and Ericson was last mentioned on the site here.
Illustrator Sena Kwon excels in both grandiose and quiet moments, with a flair for injecting whimsy into her works. The South Korea-born, New York City-based artist seems to pull from both mythology and the contemporary experience. Whether via film posters or emblazoning apparel, her work carries over to other formats and benefits from artist’s distinctive, unexpected palettes.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List