Kotaro Hoshiyama

in

Adore Hoshiyama’s style of collision and his transformation of boundaries and expectation into a creative fuel. (Insta)

The 42-year old painter counts manga artists like Tezuka Osamu, Katsuhiro Ootomo and Kazuo Umezu as early influences. But he also looked to Picasso, Kurt Schwitters and the collage-based work of the neodadaists and pop artists. Hoshiyama enjoyed diversity and using multiple styles of expression. But he struggled with conventional pressures to choose just one, which many associate with originality. Eventually he had a breakthrough, realizing that the structures in place restricting him could be turned upside down to unleash his creative freedom.

Jiro Taniguchi

in
"Taniguchi’s works are characterized by his use of simple lines, his ability to capture expressions and his attention to detail. His body of work traverses genres from historical and crime to science fiction and even fantasy. As a storyteller, he creates Zen-like introspective heroes who don’t make for splashy covers or collectible figurines but are modern-day portraits of humans."