Kororo: The Art of Horiyoshi III Exhibition- AT, Somerset House..

During a recent visit to Somerset house as a part of my illustration course, i came across this event of a Japanese tattoo artist with a unique talent, bringing his passion for introducing the genuine meaning of Japanese culture and living to his artwork and clientele. Given my early passion and desire for Art and finding my inner creative talent from a child, its no surprise that i have a strong weakness for beautifully detailed tattoos. So with relation to this statement i was very much obliged to check out the wonders of Horiyoshi III. The exhibition consisted of an array of lovely, silk paintings, photographs and prints. Being completely new to Horiyoshi and his works, i was completely unaware and excited to see and learn about him as a tattoo artist, but also had the advantage in gaining a wider insight to the Japanese culture and history that follows on. I was amazed by his delicate hand skill, loving the use of ink that is very popular within the art and culture of Japanese Calligraphy. His style reminded me a lot of the style of Japanese comic's but had a softer and much more subtle approach, this was one of the aspects of Horiyoshi's work that stood out to me, then researching wider into his creations, it came to my attention he is an amazing tatto artist. Smooth and fluid use of line, adds authenticity to the way Horiyoshi shows his influences and support to Japanese culture and history. The use of soft grey's, slowly blending nicely into a soft black. I love using black and white and sometimes have to remind myself all the beautiful diverse colours invented, however the level of detail and professional ability, from my perspective in most cases appears to prove stronger in Black and White images. I find Horiyoshi creates quite an urban, street feel also, within in his pieces, this may come from his tattooing skills, it works really well. Hoping to see more from Japanese tattoo artist Horiyoshi III, shall definitely be keeping update with any new artwork he brings to the table in the near future..