Hideaki Kawashima  (Japanese, 1970) 

Hideaki Kawashima (Japanese, b.1969) is a Contemporary Japanese artist. Born in the Aichi Prefecture in China, Kawashima graduated from Tokyo Zokei University in 1991; he was also trained in classical Buddhism, and served a two-year stint as a Buddhist monk. He studied with fellow Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (Japanese, b. 1959), and was influenced by other artists such as Mark Ryden (American, b.1963) and Pierre et Gilles (French), who depict such ethereal visions popular throughout Asian, Europe, and in the United States. Best known for his consistent method and subject, his paintings are filled with luminous, full red lips and large, marble-like eyes.

Kawashima is mostly interested in portraits, and in depicting people that are burned into our memories. He made his first splash with a slender version of St. Sebastian punctured by three arrows, but since then his focus has turned to studies of feminine heads with piercing eyes. In his Ablution (2008), he tries to encapsulate the essence of what it is to be feminine. Defined by a muted color palette, his otherworldly portraits seem to float through space, grounded mainly by large, luminous, almond-shaped eyes and deep pink painted lips.

Kawashima’s works have been recently displayed around the world in Tokyo, Japan (2008), Seoul, Korea (2009), and Santa Monica, CA (2011). He has also participated in group exhibitions in New York, NY, Saitama, Japan, Jerusalem, Israel, Luxembourg, and Berlin, Germany. He is represented by Tomio Gallery, in Tokyo, and Richard Heller Gallery, in Santa Monica, CA. He currently lives and works in Tokyo, Japan.