Yuko Shimazu

The exceptional illustrator Yuko Shimizu creates her work at the intersection of traditional Japanese graphic prints with surreal comic art. Yuko Shimizu's work deftly melds traditional Japanese graphics with surrealism and comic culture. The New York-based artist and illustrator initiates each project with classic illustration methods. She draws her basic forms and figures with Japanese calligraphy brushes and later digitally supplements them with additional colors and backgrounds. This technique gives her elegant and harmoniously composed images the look of graphic prints. Her science-fiction fantasies and personal creative visions, which are often erotically charged, combine the best of American pop and Japanese comic culture. Yuko Shimizu has won numerous international awards and has done commissioned work for the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Playboy, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, Microsoft, Pepsi, VISA, MTV, and the New York Times.