| Artist | Hiroshi Hayakawa | Resides | United States |
| Website | hiroshi-hayakawa.com | Mediums | Graphite Coloured Pencil Mixed Media |
| Print Shop | inprint.com/hiroshi | hiroshi.hykw@gmail.com | |
| Representing Gallery | Sharon Weiss Gallery Columbus, OH, USA | Themes | Vanitas |
| Follow the Artist | Press | hiroshi-hayakawa.com |
About the artist
Hiroshi Hayakawa expresses his vision in various artistic mediums including drawings, alternative photography, and sculptures. Recently his focus has been graphite and mixed media drawings.
Hiroshi’s drawing of female nudes attempts to express an original admiration: the non-instinctive, nonvisceral sexual admiration for a plastically and totally satisfying female body, presented in its most natural sensuality. The artist’s nudes attempt to express and validate his admiration for the most significant part of feminine beauty. However, beyond the practical aspects of using real-life women as artistic models, there is also a concern for the artist to explore the female nude in ways that make reference to the existential gap between human beings. Hiroshi explains that people can never completely understand and become united with each other, and from this abyss of true unity, emerges a form of seductiveness and rigidity that seems one-dimensional.
Even though vanitas are traditionally artworks which depict still life, the artist makes the conscious choice
in his graphite drawings to make humans interact with elements that remind them of the fragility and
shortness of life. There is, undoubtedly, a dialogue between humans and things. A sort of symbolic dance.
In that regard, some of the artist’s drawings feature flowers, seashells, paper planes, and fruits. Hiroshi is
clear about his intentions, “Those objects and my figures are basically talking the same symbolic language.
They are similar to those inscribed in the tradition of the vanitas movement. I am aware that some of my
objects and their symbolic meanings might be considered ‘clichés’. I don’t entirely dismiss clichés. They
have values and reasons to be.” Each one of these objects seems to either incarnate mystery or a form of
voluptuousness in connection with the women holding them. The artist aims to bring a new facet to the
long tradition of men being fascinated by the female nude by borrowing objects from vanitas art. This new
facet manifests itself in his attempt to depict human conditions by questioning what we desire, our relationship
with time passing by and our difficulty connecting with one another. “I am not pessimistic about our
inability to connect with each other. It is a condition that’s given. We just have to keep dreaming about it
and working for it.” ~ written by Aurore Phipps for Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Issue 39.
Artwork Themes & Subject Matter
“Vanitas” has been the main theme of Hiroshi’s work for the past few years. This theme is expressed through realistic figurative mixed media drawings combined with objects and environments.
Press
Hiroshi Hayakawa’s drawings have been published in notable magazines and online sources including Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Hyperrealism Magazine No. 12, The Guide Artist Masterpiece, Guia, 365 Art + Magazine, Manifest, 16th International ARC Salon Catalogue, and Artists Magazine.
Upcoming Exhibitions
| When | Exhibition | Gallery |
| June 2025 | Solo exhibition: ‘Figurative Expressions’ | Sharon Weiss Gallery Columbus, OH, USA |
| June 2025 | Group exhibition: ‘TARTGET Prize’ | The Ateneo de Madrid Madrid, Spain |
CV
Education
1997, MFA in Photography, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan, United States
1995, BFAs in Photography and Fine Arts, Columbus College of Art & Design, OH. United States
Solo Exhibitions
2019
Vanitas, 934 Gallery, Columbus, OH. United States
2016
Franklinton Arts District Gallery, Columbus, OH, United States
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025
DRAWN 2025, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH. United States
2024
Rethinking Realism, Artglorieux Gallery, GINZASIX, Tokyo, Japan
2023
Ohio Arts Council Biennial Exhibition, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH, United States
Nudes, Artglorieux Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
International Guild of Realism 17th Annual Juried Show, Sugarman Peterson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, United States
ModPortrait 2022, MEAM Museum, Barcelona, Spain
Drawing Discourse, S. Tucker Cooke Gallery, Asheville, NC. United States
2022
The Stars ~ Siriusの煌めき, Artglorieux Gallery, Tokyo Japan
Halcyon Days, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA. United States
Five and Under, Arcadia Contemporary, New York, NY. United States
ModPortrait 2021, Museu Europeu d’Art Modern, Barcelona, Spain
2021
Ohio Arts Council Biennial Exhibition, Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH. United States
Art on Paper, Navy Pier, New York, NY. United States
Drawn VIII, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH. United States
2020
DUST: The Plates of The Present, Centre Pompidou, Paris France
