Yumiko Awae

Born 1976 in Saitama, Japan
Moved to Los Angeles 1985

I'm a Japanese citizen and resident of Los Angeles.

My ideas usually come out of dreams, daydreams, random misheard or overheard things, occasional hallucinations and shapes on walls.

The older I get, the further away from realism my concepts get. I feel like I'm trying to escape from reality, but I also already feel free through my ideas as they take shape on paper, canvas or whatever. It is definitely a form of therapy.

My style is influenced by Japanese girlie comic books from the 70s through 90s, the lowbrow art scene primarily of the late 80s through the mid 90s and artists from this movement such as Mark Ryden, Chris Mars, Shag and Gary Baseman, plus more recently from revisiting older Japanese art from comic artists such as Kazuo Umezu, and surreal graphic artist/illustrator Aquirax Uno, with whom I share a birthday.
My exposure to lowbrow art in galleries such as La Luz de Jesus and Copro Gallery (formerly Copro Nason) in the early 90s gave me infinite ideas not just for subject matter, but also approach and style, where I realized that unconventionality is an option.

Pierce Community College, 1994-1997 (acrylic painting, graphic art)

10/2025 "Let Me Eat Cake, Please!" group show @ Shoebox Gallery, Los Angeles CA (in conjunction w/The Brewery Art Walk, 10/25-26/25)

9/2025 "Ultrahive 3: A Hive Gallery Traveling Show" group show @ Da Gang Art Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan

8/2025 "Ultrahive 3: A Hive Gallery Traveling Show" group show @ FM Oakland, Oakland CA

7/2025 "Ultrahive 3: A Hive Gallery Traveling Show" group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

5/2025 "Ultrahive 3: A Hive Gallery Traveling Show" group show @ Design Festa Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

5/2025 "Ultrahive 3: A Hive Gallery Traveling Show" group show @ Nano Gallery, Osaka, Japan

5/2025 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

4/2025 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

12/2024 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

6/2024 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

4/2024 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

9/2023 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

2/2021 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

12/2020 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

10/2020 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

9/2020 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

6/2019 group show @ The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles CA

5/2019 group show @ The Hive Galle...