Born in Japan but grew up in the United States, Yukio Kevin Iraha's goal in life has always been to be creative. While there are cultural influences from both the East and the West, the root of his art stems from storytelling. The stories are derived from memories, cultural anecdotes, history, or folk tales; he then mixes those ideas with personal touches and imagination. Iraha’s primary medium has been acrylic/water media, although collage as well as graphite have become part of the unique accents in most recent works.
He's trained in fine art and has shown art extensively. Ever more adventurous, he has branched out to include commercial art venues as well. Besides creating personal art, he has contributed illustrations to national magazines and publications in the past. One of the newer creations is a surreal digital media cartoon, 'Nine Bits,' which is serialized in an online format. His art is eclectic and ethereal, but integrity never fails in both the creation and outcome of the pieces.
'My reason for making art, to put it simply, is because I need to. It’s never been to seek approval or praise, but I needed to express myself visually, as I found it easier than words. While there have been many artistic influences in my life, in the end, what mattered to me was my intuition. I’ve learned, unlearned, added, carved out those influences and began concentrating on what appealed to my intuition. By eliminating sources that didn’t apply, what was so important to me were the basic visual elements: lines, textures, forms, patterns, and spaces. I use mostly conventional materials such as pencils, archival papers, and water media to create art. I like abstract art. They are my interpretations of how I perceived things, not literal observations of objects.'
Yukio Kevin Iraha joined Fine Art America on July 16th, 2018.
