HIRO A.

"Drawing on ideas of collectability and fantasy, Japanese artist Hiro combines tradition with contemporary culture in his sculpture work…. Hiro's limited sculptures resemble enlarged toy cartoon characters and bear the names SumoCat, Samurai Cat, UrbanCat, and RobotCat. They’re mainly monochrome and glossy, a few are enrobed in rhinestones or hand-painted. Hiro’s work is the creative fruit of Japanese mass culture. His cat figures are reminiscent of maneki-neko (literally, “beckoning cat”), a ubiquitous Japanese cultural icon symbolizing good luck; maneki-neko figurines can be found in nearly every souvenir store and restaurant in Japan. Hiro’s cats also resemble a masculine version of Hello Kitty, another emblematic feline character that originated in Japan. Hiro’s work shares the neo-pop spirit who refutes the idea that Art is superior to others and aims to demonstrate that popular culture, consumer society and Art are on the same floor and can cohabit in the same image, though Hiro’s sculptures do not convey the overt eroticism and darkness that most of them’s work do. Hiro expresses a lighter side of neo-pop, highlighting that contemporary art can be both fun and have wide appeal“
Makiko Whole – Publications Coordinator at The Museum of Modern Art New York , New York.