Pretty Vacant

Wood is a versatile and timeless art medium used in various forms of artistic expression, from sculpture and carving to painting and mixed media. Artists appreciate wood for its natural grain, warmth, and durability, which add depth and character to their work. Born and raised in Toba, Japan, Yoskay Yamamoto moved to the United States at the age of 15. A self-trained illustrator, Yamamoto's artistic tastes expanded as he fell in love with the urban culture of the West coast. Yamamoto discovered a way to fuse the two different cultural backgrounds together into his work. Yamamoto nostalgically blends pop iconic characters from his new Western home with tradi- tional and mythical Japanese elements, balancing his Asian heritage with urban pop art. In his new body of work, Yamamoto will feature a series of sculptures based on iconic childhood characters. Three years in the making, ‘Jokes On Me’ is a conceptual project that explores current social issues through humor. Like a Sunday comic strip, Yamamoto’s sculptures are charming and nostalgic until after further inspection have a darker underlying message. This will be the artist’s first all sculpture exhibition, working in a range of mediums from plastic, resin, vinyl, and hand sculpted wood.