Yuko Shimizu

Illustration where traditional Japanese prints meet 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 colours 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.