Keiji Takamatsu
The "paper crafts" created by Keiji Takamatsu are works that skillfully showcase the interplay of "light and shadow". By carefully considering how shadows are cast when light falls upon his creations, Takamatsu adds depth to his figures, crafting an overall aesthetic through the thoughtful selection of backgrounds, patterns, types of paper, and color schemes.
As an illustrator, Takamatsu excels in the art of skillfully deforming human expressions. By transforming hand-drawn lines into paper-cut lines, he creates modern and sharp expressions, elevating his work into a unique visual style.
The expressions in Keiji Takamatsu's "paper crafts", which shift and transform depending on how light falls upon them, create uniquely vibrant characters that seem to live in a 2.5-dimensional world.
His works featuring women as motifs are particularly captivating, highlighting the graceful and delicate movements of feminine hands. Intricate details like finely crafted eyelashes, hair, and eyes and lips that exude a sense of moisture come together to produce a remarkable array of expressions, solely through their form.
A characteristic of Japanese culture is its historical ability to swiftly adopt foreign influences and refine them with its own unique sophistication, transforming them into highly creative cultural forms. This cultural "DNA" of secondary creation, born from Japan's natural environment, has been continuously inherited by modern Japanese artists.
Keiji Takamatsu uses fine paper from "Takeo", one of Japan's leading paper manufacturers, to express the unique colors and textures that emerge from Japanese craftsmanship traditions.
Born in 1958.
Graduated from Toyo Art School in 1981.
Established the illustration studio T-BONE STAKE in 1987.
In addition to his work as an illustrator, he is also active as a paper craft artist.
Notable solo exhibitions
1999: Great One Gallery Solo Exhibition
2008: Solo Exhibition in Paris, France
2010: “Cinema Closet: Keiji Takamatsu Illustration Original Art Exhibition”, special venue on the 4th floor of Sogo Yokohama Store