As obsessive Japanese art aficionados, we at Supertouch have been keeping an eye on the daunting talent of Japanese painter AYA UEKAWA for a few years now, and are fully convinced that she’s poised to do big things in 2008. Born in Tokyo and based in NYC where she’s currently chasing her MFA at Hunter College, the 29-year-old painter has managed to escape the ubiquitous “Superflat” imagery of her homeland to forge her own distinct technique by blending styles borrowed from the Flemish figurative masters and the decorative arts, resulting in a series of fascinating and obsessively rendered tableauxs that seem like stills from introspective dreamscapes. And while her work does contrast elements of three-dimensional portraiture with 2D background and clothing treatments, it’s in the style of the great European icon painters, rather than the graphic artists of her homeland. HAVE A LOOK:
“Automatic General Hat,” acrylic on wood panel, 23.5″ x 17.5,” 2007

“Japamerican Girl Fall,” 2005 Oil on canvas, 24” x 18”

“A Safety Crown,” acrylic on wood panel, 20″ x 30,” 2007

“A Team Player Candidate (The Chicken Feather),” Acrylic on canvas, 22″ x 17″, 2004

“A Suburban Team Player Candidate,” acrylic on canvas, 30″ x 40,” 2005

(detail)

“A Japanese Team Player Candidate,” 2005, acrylic on canvas, 60″X44″ (with detail)

“Minority Obsession,” pencil on paper, 24″ x 19,” 2007

“A Noncommittal Girl,” acrylic on wood panel , 2006 (with detail)

“Chrysanthemum Syndrome,” acrylic on panel, 44″ x 44″, 2006

(detail)

“A Common Resident,” acrylic on panel, 40″ x 30,” 2006

“Pigeon Armour: Second World Complex series,” acrylic on wood panel, 50″ x 36,” 2006″ (with detail)

A Team Player Candidate(The Kiwi Coat),”acrylic on canvas, 16″ x 24,” 2005

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