Mr.  (Japanese, 1969) 

Mr. (Japanese, b.1969), born Iwamoto Masakatu in Cupa, is a renowned Pop artist. Taking his alias from the nickname of the famous Japanese baseball player Shigeo Nagashima, Mr. draws upon the otaku culture (including manga comics, anime, sci-fi literature, and video games) as inspiration for many of his works. He mixes a cartoonish and innocent style with the Lolita-esque sexualization of his characters, mostly in the form of drawings, paintings, or sculptures. He attended the department of Fine Arts, Sokei Art School in Tokyo. In 1995, while still in school, he was discovered by Takashi Murakami (Japanese, b.1962) and became of on his protégés. He joined Murakami’s art organization, Kaikai Kiki, where he is included in their exhibitions and also works as a staff member. His works have been exhibited around the world in solo shows and with other Kaikai Kiki artists. In 2005, he was shown in the group exhibition Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture at the Japan Society in New York. In 2007, he had a solo show at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York which included one of his large, brightly colored sculptures, Strawberry Voice—a large head with eyes that popped open. In addition to painting and sculpture, Mr. has more recently forayed into photography, video, and Performance Art. He currently lives and works in Saitama, outside of Tokyo.