Yoskay Yamamoto

‘Joke’s On Me’
New work from Yoskay Yamamoto
March 24th – April 21st, 2012

Artist reception: Saturday, March 24th, 7-10pm
932 Chung King Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Los Angeles, CA –LeBasse Projects: Chinatown is proud to announce ‘Jokes On Me,’ a solo exhibition from Los Angeles based artist, Yoskay Yamamoto.

In his new body of work, Yamamoto will feature a series of sculptures based on iconic childhood characters. Three years in the making, ‘Jokes On Me’ is a conceptual project that explores current social issues through humor. Like a Sunday comic strip, Yamamoto’s sculptures are charming and nostalgic until after further inspection have a darker underlying message. This will be the artist’s first all sculpture exhibition, working in a range of mediums from plastic, resin, vinyl, and hand sculpted wood.

 

About Yoskay Yamamoto
Born and raised in Toba, Japan, Yoskay Yamamoto moved to the United States at the age of 15. A self-trained illustrator, Yamamoto’s artistic taste expanded as he fell in love with the pop culture of California. Yamamoto discovered a way to fuse the two different cultural backgrounds together into his work. Yamamoto nostalgically blends pop iconic characters from his adopted western home with traditional and mythical Japanese elements, balancing his Asian heritage with urban pop art. He has sold out his work recently at shows in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles.

 

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Yoskay Interview
Tomorrow night Yoskay Yamamoto’s solo show ‘Picking Up Where We Left Off” opens at LeBasse Projects Culver City. I had a chance recently to ask Yoskay to tell me a little more…

Erica J: How did you come up with your upcoming show title, ‘Picking Up Where We Left Off?’
Yoskay Yamamoto: It refers to the time when my family came to visit me earlier this year. I don’t get to see them very often and it’s comforting to know that you can still reconnect with them without any tension or awkwardness. Also it is simply about the relationship of my work and myself.

EJ: How has your recent reconnection with your family influenced this upcoming show?
YY: Seeing my nieces and spending time with them was a very pleasant experience. Also reconnecting with my brother who I haven’t seen in 8 years was quite a big deal to me. I think they helped to set certain moods in some of the paintings, such as “Stay Gold” and “Here, Water.”

EJ: This show includes a few of your amazing hand carved wood sculptures. How did you start to carve in wood?
YY: I have always been a fan of old Buddhist sculpture. I wanted to use an old traditional material with a modern approach.

EJ: What do you get out of sculpting compared to painting?
YY: To me both sculpting and painting are a challenge to create satisfying work. In the end it is about creating something that inspires me to push myself forward.

EJ: What inspires you and keeps you motivated as an artist?
YY: Seeing other artists work inspires me but I like to think my own work motivates me to be the best I can be.

EJ: What’s next?
YY: There are a few exciting projects that I’m involved with. I just finished the painting for an album cover for my friend’s band, “Children of Nova.” I also have a pottery project that I’m very excited about. But what I’m most excited about is the sculpture show next year in February. It will be a lot different from my normal work but I think people will enjoy them.