He proudly claims his belonging to this culture, even trying to change the image of the daggy, antwacky and lame "otaku" to something super cool and hype.
Fantasista Utamaro is an artist, an art director, animation director and a textile designer based in Brooklyn, NY. Born in Japan, he is part of the new generation of young Japanese artists that challenge the traditional boundaries of art.
From an early age, Utamaro immersed himself in the culture of Japanese manga and anime, which is where his main source of inspiration comes from. He proudly claims his belonging to this culture, even trying to change the image of the daggy, antwacky and lame "otaku" to something super cool and hype.
His distinctive ultra pop and technicolor style expresses the explosive energy in his works that are created based on his three concepts: celebration, freedom, and limitlessness. He captures pattern that increases endlessly, same as the endless imagination or the endless human’s ego. For Utamaro, anything cannot exist unless it gets trimming, like a stomach. The most important things are hidden into the process to acknowledge the value of daily life.
for many years, Utamaro collaborated with Murakami Takashi where he also directed Pharrell Williams music video. He has been working on various Japanese movies and magazines as an art director.