Life and Work with Hikari Kobayashi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hikari Kobayashi.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Throughout my life, my parent’s encouraged me to pursue my passion for art. During high school, I was able to attend a program that had an advanced curriculum for the Arts, which led the way for me to be able to go to an art college for my B.F.A. On a personal note, I came to express myself through my artwork because I found that it was easier to communicate emotions and thoughts through a visual medium.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
At times, it feels like it has been a smooth road, though others not so much. It is strange to grow up in a community that had nothing in common with my own cultural background, I was born in the South were there was not much opportunity to meet other families that were Japanese. In the past and in some instances in the present, I find the predominant struggle I face is from identifying who I am and what I want my artwork to stand for. Since those two factors fluctuate and change through my experience, I find that having a flexible mindset and understanding attitude has allowed the thought process to proceed in a more smooth fashion. Advice I would have for others would be that it is alright to struggle with figuring out your goals, artwork, or art style. It is part of the cycle in figuring out what you want and that not knowing immediately what you want to do is natural.

Please tell us about your work.
My body of work consists mostly of 2 – D pieces in the form of illustrations. Generally, in my work I utilize strong line art, combination of ink and watercolor, as well as a cartoonish style. Along with refining my skills, I am proud of the direction I am going with my work. I have started to create artwork that I think is enjoyable to view as well as a more efficient process to create pieces. I guess what I would say that sets my work apart from others would be that no matter what I create there is a consistent visual language that links all of my pieces back to me.

Who have you been inspired by?
A woman that has had a great impact in my life would be my mother, not only did she make sure to pass on her culture to us but she also taught us to pursue our passions. Another source of inspiration to me would be Yayoi Kusama. Seeing her work in person recently and also being aware of her work through my mother, the use of 3D space as well as shape and color has been influential in my recent work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hikarikobayashi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hikari_smoked_bacon/

Image Credit:
“Lady Bug on Frame” Taken by Hannah Smith, All Artwork Pieces by Hikari Kobayashi

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