Japanese Painter Uses Blackened Eyes and Expressions to Create Social Commentary

As I’ve covered before, there are many great artists on Instagram. Many try to be as aesthetic and chic as possible, while others occassionally take an alternative approach to catch a viewer’s eye. Artist MADSAKI is well-known for colorful portraits interrupted by black tears and bloody noses.

Also, he’s created graffiti-inspired pieces around bold statements like “SPIRITUALLY F—ING BANKRUPT.” Sure enough, his street art style is gathering attention from people all over the world. His style of drawing Bush is interesting. Everything about those turbulent times seems to be summed up in this one painting.

More: Instagram h/t: grapee

Born in Osaka in 1974 and relocated to New Jersey at a young age, MADSAKI graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York (BFA, 1996) and was a member of international artist group Barnstormers before starting his solo career. Both satirical and sentimental, aggressive yet vulnerable, MADSAKI has used graffiti influences as a way to express the frustration and alienation of his bicultural identity and to critique the value of art.