• Overview
    YUM expresses how we, the viewer in his or her purest form, and the environment around us, naturally live freely in harmony with one another.

    Contemporary Japanese pop artist, Toda, has hit the global art market with a fantastic flurry of consistently sold-out shows throughout Tokyo, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Yusuke Toda’s most recent body of work, everything depicted is framed by a central character named “YUM”. YUM expresses how we, the viewer in his or her purest form, and the environment around us, naturally live freely in harmony with one another.

     

    The environs of YUM’s world (and YUM himself) are exclusively monochromatic with pops of color through which the artist depicts the positive, hopeful aspects of life against the black and white immutable properties of mortal existence. The black and white universe YUM inhabits takes inspiration from mass culture in all its forms (cartoons, film, fashion, classic children’s books, fairytales) to create an inviting dreamscape of blissful childhood memory and fantasy. But beneath that bliss, is the hand of an artist who remembers all too well not just the beauty of being a child, but the concomitant pain.

     

    The artist was an only child in a home without a TV, and parents who both worked late into the night. To forget his loneliness, he began at a very young age to paint and create “super happy worlds in order to disconnect from sadness and the true realities of what it means to be a human and survive many hardships.” Within every painting, Yusuke connects with his child-self through what he describes as his alter-ego — the typically alone, but happy character of YUM who naturally carries the artist forward, moving him around his canvas effortlessly with the limitless mind of his former child self.

     To register you interest or to receive additional information please call +1(212) 226-8680 or email info@guyhepnereditions.com
     
  • Works
    • Rin in the Flower
      Yusuke Toda
      Rin in the Flower, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      25 5/8 x 25 5/8 in
      65 x 65 cm
    • Yum's Morning
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum's Morning, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      25 5/8 x 25 5/8 in
      65 x 65 cm
    • Yum and Friends
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Friends , 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      25 5/8 x 25 5/8 in
      65 x 65 cm
    • Yum and Painter Pom
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Painter Pom, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      25 5/8 x 23 5/8 in
      65 x 60 cm
    • Yum's Home
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum's Home, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      29 1/2 x 29 1/2 in
      75 x 75 cm
    • Yum Pom with Felt Hat
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum Pom with Felt Hat, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      25 5/8 x 23 5/8 in
      65 x 60 cm
    • Yum at Painter's Room
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum at Painter's Room, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      31 1/2 x 31 1/2 in
      80 x 80 cm
    • Yum and Rin in Socks
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Rin in Socks, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      29 1/2 x 29 1/2 in
      75 x 75 cm
    • Yum and Friends 2
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Friends 2, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      31 1/2 x 31 1/2 in
      80 x 80 cm
    • Yum and Tiny Sun
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Tiny Sun, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      35 3/8 x 35 3/8 in
      90 x 90 cm
    • Mew on Yum
      Yusuke Toda
      Mew on Yum, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      35 3/8 x 35 3/8 in
      90 x 90 cm
    • Yum and Rin Dancing Under the Moonlight
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Rin Dancing Under the Moonlight, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      35 3/8 x 35 3/8 in
      90 x 90 cm
    • Yum and Many Friends
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Many Friends , 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      35 3/8 x 35 3/8 in
      90 x 90 cm
    • Yum and Old Friends
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Old Friends, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      35 3/8 x 35 3/8 in
      90 x 90 cm
    • Yum's Night Flight
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum's Night Flight, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in
      100 x 100 cm
    • Yum at Art Library
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum at Art Library, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in
      100 x 100 cm
    • Yum and Moon
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Moon, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in
      100 x 100 cm
    • Yum and Rin's Night Drive
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum and Rin's Night Drive, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      47 1/4 x 47 1/4 in
      120 x 120 cm
    • The Romance of Yum and Rin
      Yusuke Toda
      The Romance of Yum and Rin , 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      47 1/4 x 47 1/4 in
      120 x 120 cm
    • Yum, Rin, Bow, Pom
      Yusuke Toda
      Yum, Rin, Bow, Pom, 2023
      Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
      47 1/4 x 47 1/4 in
      120 x 120 cm
  • Installation Shots