Kazuya Ushioda

Phenomenal hyperreal portraits by Japanese artist Kazuya Ushioda.

Ushioda creates refined figurative paintings that combine classical technique with an innovative approach to materials. After earning a PhD in Fine Art from Bunsei University in 2015, Ushioda developed Impasto OG Tempera, a distinctive water-based medium formulated from animal glue, pigments, and a small amount of oil. Its strong adhesion and rapid drying properties allow him to build substantial layers while maintaining remarkable control. Ushioda typically uses the tempera for his underpaintings before completing his works with oil.

Purity and cleanliness recur throughout his imagery, but the artist considers prayer his central theme, understood not as religious devotion but as a hopeful belief in human goodness. Against an increasingly uncertain world, Ushioda’s luminous portraits offer moments of quiet beauty and contemplation, encouraging viewers to pause and reconnect with a sense of hope.