MAPICO

Welcome to MAPICO ART!! My artist’s nickname is MAPICO. I was born and raised through my crucial vulnerable teen years in the metropolitan jungle of Tokyo. Populated by over 10 million people and designed like a modern toy with superbly stimulating components scattered all over a fast-moving and American-influenced landscape, this intricate and ever-evolving city had a major impact on my vision from a young age. As a byproduct of this environment, one of my life goals was always to become an artist. I was fervently inspired by and infatuated with American pop and Impressionism, as well as other designers and artists, such as Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Claude Monet, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Escher, Philippe Starck, and more. In addition, the celestial art of Ukiyo-e, a traditional Japanese art featured on woodblock prints and paintings in the Edo period (1603~1868) also impacted me viscerally. A natural progression of the knock-on-effect established my predilection for an East meets West eclectic and my tolerant art style. I used to hang out at art galleries in the Cultural District of Shibuya and at art museums in the Arts Districts of Ueno, where my glittery, bug-eyed expression was a result of my response to the art rather than to any double-espresso macchiato from Starbucks (which was not even there yet)! To me, those places are a mental oasis. Appreciating art is an adventurous, ephemeral, and transformational journey. After having studied ESL (English as a Second Language) at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, majored in International Studies and Economics & Business at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and earned an MFA in film production at UCLA, I now reside in Los Angeles, California, where I engage in a wide variety of activities. My heart is always drawn to “Make-you-happy Art”. I’ll probably keep creating art until my last breath.