Maiko Kobayashi

Child-like creatures portray emotional depths in Maiko Kobayashi’s paintings. Each illustration begins with a layer of gesso and acrylic on Japanese Washi paper or canvas. After drawing her characters with charcoal, she blends the sketch with her hands. Kobayashi then paints over with another, simple monochrome background. She redraws the figures repeatedly. With each layer, the paintings gain material and emotional depth. Then, the characters are framed with their block colour background. The colours are reminiscent of traditional Japanese-style painting styles and illustrations.

Kobayashi’s creatures are a window into our emotions. Her characters show sadness, joy, fear, and melancholy. Their raw feelings are contrasted with the cuteness of the illustrations. This creates a psychological inner-world – one we can easily relate to. She says, “The creatures I invented are essential to realise what I want to do in the field of expression.” The titles of her works also explore the nature of emotions, like Trails of Thoughts (2021) and Tones of Mind (2022). Despite never drawing people, Kobayashi uses her creatures as a way to access deep, human emotions.