Yu Kiwanami / 極並 佑

Born in 1985, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.

Education
2007: Graduated from the Western Painting Course, Department of Fine Arts and Crafts, Faculty of Arts, Kyoto University of the Arts
2009: Completed the master’s Program in Art Expression, Graduate School of Arts, Kyoto University of the Arts

Characterized by clear lines and flat coloration, the work of Yu Kiwanami has recent years undergone significant transformation as a result of developing narrative, shadow and material. His work is dominated by figures without faces, claimed by the artist to be ‘obscure portraits of no one and everyone’. While in earlier works he boldly omitted backgrounds have come to be depicted as narrative filled spaces given character through his own particular technique.