Reminiscent and familiar, yet fanciful and imaginative, Mitsushige Nishiwaki’s metropolitan etchings offer narrative stories that have an “outsider art” point-of-view. He depicts his characters with child-like and cartoonish expression, yet they seem universally commonplace - doing chores of everyday life. Street scenes are naïve and whimsical, often presenting everyday contexts – the bakery, flower shop, and the like. Or, he conjures up urban icons in all sorts of unusual ways. Rooftops turn into outward expressions of the private lives and activities from within. What becomes revealing, is that Nishiwaki seems to make each culture immediately identifiable by the way he personifies everyday life.

In some of his artwork, scale relationships are exaggerated, creating juxtaposing in the composition. This mixing up of scale enhances the story that is being told. Nishiwaki’s art turns urban fabric and city living into matter that heightens and amuses us about metropolitan life everywhere.

Beginning in 2009, and self taught in intaglio, Mitsushige Nishiwaki’s etchings are on copperplate, and for highlighted color, on plastic. He uses German Hahnemuhle paper and Charbonnel etching ink. His larger works are made up of a series of abutting small print-plate sizes, providing a visible armature for the artwork.

Nishiwaki is a graduate of Hosei University in Tokyo and received a graduate degree in graphic design while studying in Arizona. He works as an artist and graphic designer in Tokyo. His artwork has been exhibited in Japan, France, England and the United States.

Metropolitan Twist