Edwin Ushiro’s work resonates with the echoes of his boyhood in the “slow town” of Wailuku on the Hawaiian island of Maui. In his paintings, he recalls the sun-struck days of youth, when the world was fresh and magical, but also explores the eerie folklore indigenous to dark country roads and the boundless depths of the childhood imagination. Working in a mixed media style that involves laboring in ink and acrylic over sheets of Lucite printed with assemblages of his drawings and paintings, he creates reflections on the past that are luminous and nostalgic, like cherished memories burnished by the passage of time.
After earning a BFA with Honors in Illustration from Art Center College of Design, he worked in the entertainment industry as a storyboard artist, concept designer and visual consultant. A monograph of his work entitled Edwin Ushiro: Gathering Whispers was published in 2014 with editions by Zero+ Publishing in the United States and Diagon Alley in China. In recent years, he has exhibited in venues worldwide, including Villa Bottini in Italy, Grand Palais in France, the Museum of Kyoto, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. He lives and works in Los Angeles and Maui.