Korehiko Hino is one of the rising stars of Japanese contemporary art. Born in 1976, he studied painting at the University of Tsukuba from where he got his master's degree in 2001. In 2005 he won the Grand Prize at "The Vision of Contemporary Art", the Ueno Royal Museum Tokyo.

Hino's works are instantly recognizable with their young people with large stunned eyes seemingly bewildered by life. Influenced by Japanese anime and manga art, Hino portrays his subjects as innocent, guileless young people confounded by the daily pressures of modern life, a recurrent theme in Japanese art. It seems his figures are afraid of growing up, wanting to retreat back into an infantile state, finding the world too confusing and confounding.

"My Elegance"

Portrayed in a classical, heroic Greek style, the young man of the picture is dignified and seems to be poised and self-assured. His luxuriant, wavy hair seems to suggest a nonchalant, carefree attitude. Yet, his large wide-opened eyes express vulnerability, the vulnerability we all feel in the face of a depersonalized society which seems to shun the individual. However, the brightly colored, sky-blue background adds a note of optimism and a hope that with our dignity we can break through a cold and lonely world.