Edwin Ushiro

Edwin Ushiro's work resonates with the echoes of his boyhood in the "slow town" of Wailuku on the Hawaiian island of Maui. In his paintings, he recalls the sun-struck days of youth, when the world was fresh and magical, but also explores the eerie folklore indigenous to dark country roads and the boundless depths of the childhood imagination. While structuring his work around the narrative tradition of "talk story" native to the Hawaiian islands, he interweaves the uncanny obake tales of his Japanese heritage. Working in a unique mixed media technique which involves laboring in ink and acrylic over sheets of Lucite printed with assemblages of his more traditional drawings and paintings, he creates reflections on the past that are luminous and nostalgic, like cherished memories burnished by the passage of time.

After earning a BFA with Honors in Illustration from Art Center College of Design, he worked in the entertainment industry as a storyboard artist, concept designer and visual consultant. More recently, he has exhibited in venues worldwide, including Villa Bottini in Italy, the Museum of Kyoto, the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the Japanese American National Museum. In 2016, Edwin created his first and second mural as a part...

Art Center College of Design

Solo Exhibitions:

2018 - "Graduation," GR2 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2017 - "A Survey," GR2 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 - "Capturing What Still Glimmers," GR2 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015 - "The Study of Life as Things," GR2 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2014 - "Gathering Whispers," GR2 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
2010 - "At Night, Lights Fell and Loved Ones Returned Home," Sloan Fine Art, New York, NY.
2009 - "Softly Encompassing the Womb," LeBasse Projects, Culver City, CA.

2&3 Person Shows:

2013 - "Supernatural," Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA.
2010 - "Preceding Sunday," Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle, WA.

Group Shows:

2019 - Rakugaki, GR2 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2018 - 7th Annual Supersonic Invitational," Spoke Art Gallery, New York, NY
2017 - "6th Annual Supersonic Invitational," Spoke Art Gallery, New York, NY
2016 - "Silent Wonderment: Exploring the World of Giant Robot," Vincent Price Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
"POW WOW Hawaii" and "POW WOW Long Beach," street art mural festival, Honolulu, HI and Long Beach, CA.
2015 - "HI Society," Honolulu Art Museum Spalding House, Honolulu, HI
2014 - "Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty," The Japanese American National Museu...