* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Kenji Hirata’s artwork in form and color is strongly inspired by nature, billboards and hand painted signage of Southeast Asia, and futurism.
The theme that runs through Hirata’s body of work is a story he has created, in which an entire universe exists. His paintings, drawings, and films provide glimpses into this universe.
Hirata has developed a language of icons and symbols, which take on new meanings as they are combined and recombined throughout his abstract and figurative works.
Hirata creates his work for an open mind. He intends to speak to the childlike part of the viewer that is not jaded and can imagine the right direction for the future with clear vision.
"Kenji is exactly the type of artist I want for exhibition in the museum. His work is fun and futuristic and pulled completely from his mind. His works are inspired by nature and he claims that they are mere “glimpses into his universe”. His murals would revive any depressing city and surely improve their perception while also inspiring change and revitalization. The brilliant colors and his use of space, proportion, and shape stirs your energy. It’s hard not to smile."
