Re-Opening

silkscreen on BFK Rives, wooden frame
h: 57, w: 76.5 cm (sheet) / h: 62, w: 81.5, d: 3.5 cm (frame)
ed.15
2020

* It will take about 4 weeks from the order to delivery.

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[Artist Statement]

Let's Go on a Trip!

Suddenly, life has changed. I have stopped taking the subway, going to my studio, walking around the city, seeing movies at the theater, and meeting up with my friends. I spend my days in quarantine, going outside only to shop for food or to get a little fresh air. Projects and trips have all been postponed. The city has become the new epicenter of the pandemic and life has been made more difficult for all of its inhabitants. Many people have lost their jobs and are getting desperate about paying bills. News from the world outside is far from encouraging. Entire countries have closed their borders. The US presidential response in itself has been a disaster. I think about what I can do to remain as mentally creative as usual while stuck in my Manhattan apartment. God gave me the gift of transforming feelings into visual art. And using this power, I have started to make a new series of drawings: an imaginary trip in the midst of life under quarantine. The result is like a diary of insights about my past, my present daily life, and the future. I have been experimenting with complex digital techniques to produce simple black-and-white drawings. These original artworks will hopefully be exhibited at the end of the year in a physical museum. In the meantime, enjoy this little preview!

Oscar Oiwa

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Re-Opening
The outbreak started in a Wuhan wholesale food market in early December of 2019. Half a year later over 7 million people have been infected and over 400 thousand have died. What impressive and alarming statistics! Now, laboratories worldwide are racing against the clock to develop the right vaccine. In this drawing, each mysterious animal swimming in the deep sea represents a country (China, the USA, Brazil, Russia, the UK, Spain, Italy, France, India and Japan); the central light represents the vaccine to come. At the same time, the animals appear to be ghosts wandering across the universe and looking inward at a small planet called Earth. It has come time for me to resume my normal life, or whatever version of it is now available. And so I will end this quarantine drawing series here.  This series is dedicated to all the medical staff who have worked or are continuing to work on the front lines. Thank you!
(Oscar Oiwa / 9.6.2020)