On the Way Home

Kohei Ogawa is a Japanese artist renowned for his whimsical and endearing creations that span illustrations, needle-felted dolls, paintings, and sculptures. After graduating from Asagaya College of Art in 1997, Ogawa embarked on a career as a freelance illustrator, producing work for advertising agencies, publishers, and television programs.   In 2013, Ogawa introduced the “Green Cow Garden” series, a collection of handmade needle-felted dolls featuring anthropomorphized animals and fantastical creatures. This series garnered significant attention and became a hallmark of his artistic identity.  Expanding his artistic repertoire, Ogawa collaborated with Hong Kong-based art toy producer How2Work starting in 2017. Together, they developed various figure projects, including the “Naughty Boy” series, the “BG Bear” series, and a blind-boxed mini-figure line based on the “Green Cow Garden” characters Rotofugi Designer Toy Store & Gallery, established in July 2004, is located on the border of Chicago's Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods in a beautiful vintage building. Since opening, Rotofugi has grown to become one of the world's premier sellers of designer toys from artists all over the world. Rotofugi features a diverse selection of vinyl figures, capsule toys, plush and more from both eastern and western designers. The adjoining Rotofugi Gallery features monthly art exhibits by a range of both local and nationally known artists. Beginning in late 2007 Rotofugi partnered with Chicago based product development specialist Squibbles Ink to begin producing artist-designed figures by the talented designers located in their home town. Click here for more information on Squibbles Ink + Rotofugi projects. Rotofugi is owned and operated by husband and wife duo Kirby and Whitney Kerr. You can find the couple in and around the store on most days. They love to talk about toys and art. Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media.