“An Arms Length within Safer Depth” (2015), detail
Los Angeles based artist Edwin Ushiro, who hails from Hawaii originally, has become recognized for his nostalgic multimedia works inspired by his childhood memories. In his previous showing at Giant Robot’s GR2 Gallery in Los Angeles, “Gathering Whispers”, Ushiro reflected on his earlier years spent on the island of Maui. Those works presented a romanticized version of the island, where children played with spirits in lush green environments. It also marked an exploration into new media, particularly paintings on plexiglass. For his next exhibition with the gallery, “The Study of Life as Things”, which opens this Saturday, Ushiro looks back on his youth in more traditional “studies”. The series includes new ballpoint pen, marker, colored pencil and graphite drawings on translucent paper. At his blog, Ushiro writes, “The show consists of knowledge gathered during my Iao Intermediate School days. This body of work includes: pool time in the summer (since we were for the most part in Wailuku, my brother and I would spend a lot of time at the local pool nearby our grandparents house – the beach was too far), Rusty and playing in the backyard with him (from kitten to cat), kids playing basketball, recreating 6 of my favorite basketball cards from the 90’s (my hobby until 1995), beach (a special treat), mynah birds (although they can be a menace, now that I am living in California, I really miss them), Ooka Supermarket (Wailuku’s largest locally owned supermarket and one of the first on Maui which closed in 2005 and was converted into a 61 unit senior living complex), Iao Intermediate School King and Queen (prom – I never knew such a thing existed), a pocket calendar that references the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy which was heavily underlined by our Hawaiiana teacher, Mr. Edwin Linsey with an underlying emphasis on 90′s fashion in Hawaii.”
“The Study of Life as Things” by Edwin Ushiro will be on view at Giant Robot’s GR2 Gallery from July 18th through August 5th.
