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Oscar Satio Oiwa Neve Negra (Black Snow) (detail) , 2003, oil on canvas, 89 x 174.” Collection of the Arizona State University Art Museum. Gift of the at Arizona State University, members of the Museum Advisory Board, and the Museum Store.

Oscar Oiwa, a native of São Paulo, studied in Japan and London. In 2002 was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship which took him to New York, where he now spends most of his time. He is not the first artist to record the impact of globalization but is among the most accomplished not only for his considerable skill as a painter but for the complexity of his view of the transformations that have occurred as a result of human ambition. Like many artists of his generation, he sees the impact of shifting populations across continents and the cultural collisions that these fusions can create. While his view is often bleak, it is also presented with optimism: flowers float above the cities; beauty is in the painting itself. Influences include Japanese art –the byobu screen and contemporary manga, and Western sources as varied as such as Anselm Kiefer, science fiction film, and Claude Monet.

The artist´s work is represented by Thomas Cohn Gallery, São Paulo. In October 2006, the ASU Art Museum will present the first solo exhibition of the artist´s work in the United States. (See Exhibitions and Publications listings.)

Marilyn A. Zeitlin