Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

New Portraits by “Hi” are Lonely, Together

Japanese artist 非 (meaning “Hi”) first caught our attention in 2012 with his mysterious tumblr of digital illustrations that look like oils. Hi’s portraits of young men, often depicted with a pained expression, are a unique blend of creepiness and happy colors. For writing purposes, we can only guess “his” gender, because Hi keeps his real name, sex and age a secret. Hi intentionally doesn’t sell his works nor does he exhibit in a gallery. What we do know is that Hi is a young artist representing the internet generation, millennials using it for creative tools, inspiration, and reaching audiences on a socially global level. Take a look at Hi's new work after the jump.

Japanese artist 非 (meaning “Hi”) first caught our attention in 2012 with his mysterious tumblr of digital illustrations that look like oils. Hi’s portraits of young men, often depicted with a pained expression, are a unique blend of creepiness and happy colors. For writing purposes, we can only guess “his” gender, because Hi keeps his real name, sex and age a secret. Hi intentionally doesn’t sell his works nor does he exhibit in a gallery. What we do know is that Hi is a young artist representing the internet generation, millennials using it for creative tools, inspiration, and reaching audiences on a socially global level.

Hi’s new work continues to portray “lonely” teenagers cut off from the world, but something abstract is now finding its way in. In spite of themselves, their existence online has made it possible for them to be loved and appreciated indefinitely. On some level, Hi captures the irony of feeling alone while being constantly connected to others. Take a look at Hi’s new work below.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
Russian artist Uno Moralez crafts images that are a throwback to seemingly less sophisticated, earlier days of digital art. Yet, what the artist has done is forge a novel, fascinating way to communicate narrative. They’re not quite comics, yet Moralez often depends on more than one image to share his stories, which move between pulp, campy horror, sci-fi, or something stranger and dream-like.
The late artist Tetsuya Ishida is still making an impression with his nightmarish paintings of young men in a state of disfigurement. His work has been described as a surrealistic portrayal of every day Japanese life. Of the 180 works he left behind after his death by a train accident in 2005, nearly all include self-portraits. Ishida’s images most certainly link his own childhood experiences with his observations of society. As a child growing up in Japan, Ishida felt constant pressure to meet the standards of young men his age, and was encouraged to study academics over art. Paintings, such as “Prisoner” (1999) which portrays a young boy growing beyond the capacity of his school walls, reflect on his memories. In fact, there are several iterations of the same image, pointing to the extremity of his frustrations as a student. See more of his work after the jump.
They are "the girls behind the lace." This is how Okinawa based painter Mao Hamaguchi describes the young subjects of her romantic paintings. Her Gothic Art inspired images are painted in a soft and delicate style, where we find Contemporary aristocratic girls peeking through veils or shrouds and lace curtains. The symbol of lace is used throughout Hamaguchi's art. Lace is a sensual fabric, often associated with intimacy and pleasure, as well as wealth, once among a household's most prized possessions. Hamaguchi embraces all of its nuances, using them to emphasize the qualities of womanhood.
Canadian multimedia artist Jon Rafman often explores the boundaries between our real lives and our virtual lives. Working primarily in digital media, his works illustrate a modern sense of reality through humour and irony. He is perhaps best known for exhibiting found images from Google Street View, titled "9-Eyes". In his ongoing series "Brand New Paint Job", Rafman re-appropriates famous paintings by contemporary artists into the 3D digital realm.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List