Studio Visit: Edwin Ushiro

Dailydujour recently caught up with Edwin Ushiro as he was prepping one of his larger pieces for his upcoming ‘Softly Encompassing the Womb’ solo which opens September 12th (7-10 PM) @ Lebasse Projects in Culver City.  Edwin’s work has an ethereal quality which is accentuated by his intricate process he’s developed on his own through experimentation. We’re not going to try to fully explain all the nuances, but  the basics are that he creates several smaller pieces on transfer paper (used for their transparency which lets light flow through the work) which he then aligns into a larger piece by adhering them to a clear sheet of vinyl.   That’s what you see in the picture above and the others after the jump.

As you can see, it’s not for the faint of heart.  Take a basically complete piece and then apply heavy amounts of varnish (also acts as an adhesive) and sandwich between a layer of vinyl.  Then, patiently and meticulously roll and squeegee out bubbles.  As you can imagine Edwin’s had some less than stellar results in the early stages of using this process, but he seemed perfectly calm today.

We also had a chance to talk to him about the themes of the show.  Many of the pieces are based around ghost stories he grew up hearing and learning as a child in Hawaii.  By casting childhood friends and school mates as characters in these paintings, he combines the surreal with the real, thus making the work personal.  In a small way, it’s his way of reconnecting with childhood memories and in a sense his earliest relationships.

LeBasse Projects
6023 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310.558.0220