Yuya Hashizume

Japanese, b. 1983

Yuya Hashizume (b. 1983) rose to fame for his Eyewater series, a collection of paintings in which a person is depicted against a monochrome background using the technique of Japanese manga and with a single tear falling from one eye, and is gaining attention in Japan as well as throughout Asia and Europe. Having been interested in drawing and making things with his hands since childhood, Hashizume worked for several years at an outdoor clothing brand after graduating from university, during which time he learned the basics of branding and product design. After several more career experiences, including designing advertisements and other promotional materials, Hashizume eventually developed a signature style that culminated in his first solo exhibition, “eyewater,” in 2017 at Tokyo’s Classic Bowl, which was warmly received by the global art community.

Hashizume’s creations are inverse depictions of modern social phenomena that the artist is interested in, such as loss of originality or the tendency for unique things to be quickly shared among many. His artistic world is made up of paintings of people and animals that reflect the style of Fujiko F. Fujio, the writer and illustrator of Doraemon, a manga series that instilled in the young Hashizume the concepts of artificiality and anonymity.

Since 2018, Hashizume has held private exhibitions in Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul, and London. In 2021, a large-scale exhibition, “eyewater Shanghai” (Xu Gallery, Powerlong Museum), was held in Shanghai. In the summer of 2022, “eyewater (SPIRAL)” made waves in Tokyo.