Yukio Miyashita
Yukio Miyashita is obsessed with managing data - from sumo wrestling win/loss records to shuttle bus schedules - which he marks in his notebooks. With the same application, he transcribes articles from foreign newspapers, English or French, in calligraphy, taking the time to assimilate the shape of each character of the alphabet to draw them, one by one, in overlapping layers.
Born in 1973, Yukio Miyashita lives in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. He joined Atelier Yamanami in 1997.
Data management is Yukio’s purpose of life. Carrying an organizer and calculator all the time, he never misses a beat in managing various data ranging from scorebooks of Japan’s professional baseball, win/loss records of Sumo wrestling, work schedule of staff members, to running schedule of the shuttle bus.
Yukio’s meticulous personality is reflected upon his artworks. In his drawings, after drawing an outline of the major theme, he divides the background into numerous squares of several millimeter on each side and carefully and slowly colors each square, one after another. It also takes a long time to create his calligraphic pieces to draw newspapers printed in English or French, because he comprehends the shape of each alphabet character and draws one by one in overlaying multitude.
Observing how Yukio works on his artworks, it appears more appropriate to call it a daily routine than a creative activity.
Preface : Yukiko Koide & Raphaël Koenig
Foreword : Christian Berst.
Catalog published to mark the exhibition Japan Brut : the moon, the sun, yamanami, from August 31st to October 5th, 2019.
