I recently met a gent from the creative talent agency Dutch Uncle, who showed me some examples from his team’s impressive portfolio. One of my favorite artists featured was Japanese illustrator Tadaomi Shibuya.

Shibuya’s works manifest in a salvo of bold, geometric patterns, their subjects abstracted into emblems while still retaining all the humanity and emotional nuance of a portrait.

From a 2008 interview with Portland’s Compound Gallery:

“My art is influenced by my childhood experiences, super robot animation, science fiction, hip hop music and Japanese art. My art has many straight lines because the straight line is a uniquely human concept. I follow this concept as a basic rule.”

Regarding commercial advertising jobs vs. art for a gallery:
“A client’s demand is the same as the theme of an art show. I have to do my best work in both. The commercial project will have more viewers and I have to think about how the general audience will react. I feel I have a duty to make art in the image of our ordinary lives. Commercial work is always very important and I do not take it lightly. I also do not have a definitive line between art, design, illustration. They are all the same from a creative point of view.”

You can view more of Tadaomi Shibuya’s portfolio over at Dutch Uncle.

Tadaomi Shibuya’s blog