Shizuka Kusayanagi

Shizuka Kusayanagi (b.1982 Yokohama, Japan) has divided her time between growing up in Japan
and the United States, with frequent trips to France, Shizuka considers herself a mutt of the three
cultures. She believes she has developed a particular sensitivity as an “insider-outsider,” a curious nomad
often trying to identify what constitutes a city, a culture, or a person. Whether it be loosely abstract oil
paintings of Los Angeles landscapes, text and image-based works on index cards, or pastel drawings of
organic shapes, a place, a memory, or a feeling all become portraits for Shizuka: portraits in terms of the
essence of the subject matter, carefully studied and interpreted both as a participant and a spectator.
In her most recent work of oil paintings i.e. ‘Untitled (Treasure)’, Shizuka encapsulates visions she had
experienced during meditations or states of mind-body connection. Like a portrait photographer using the
lens of her mind’s eye, she captures the visions to later develop their spirit physically, onto canvas or
paper. The process is like that of a language interpreter, as she attempts to create feelings, a universal
language without physical form.
Shizuka obtained a BFA in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design, New York. She is
currently based in Los Angeles. Shizuka spends her time as a designer, illustrator, and creative director.
Having enriched her life with disciplines spanning from printmaking, photography, drawing, sculpting,
writing, cooking, producing art workshops, and raising two healthy humans.
@illustrated_by_shizuk