Date of event: October 8, 2011, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Rick Kitagawa is a multi-disciplinary artist who paints in acrylic, gouache, and watercolor, illustrates in photoshop, and prints with silkscreen, linocuts, and letterpress. Rick moved from Stockton, CA to the Bay Area to pursue his Bachelor’s in Integrative Biology with a minor in Asian American Studies from UC Berkeley. After obtaining his degree, and realizing that only art could make him happy, Rick moved to San Francisco and studied fine art and illustration at the Academy of Art.

Rick’s work is inspired by mythology, cryptozoology, horror films, and pop culture. He believes that he must “Create or Die” and is currently developing two bodies of work: “ Alone in the Dark” and “Bestiarum vocabulum.”

“ Alone in the Dark” is an exploration of the nature of fear. Focusing on portraiture in a mix of classical realism mixed with 50′s pulp images and a distinctly modern palette, Rick seeks to capture the unease (or sometimes sheer horror) of people who are “alone in the dark”. Rick’s goal is to let the viewer conjure up their own greatest fear that lurks just outside of the canvas.

“ Beastiarum vocabulum” is Rick’s personal bestiary – a collection of creatures spawned from mythology of various cultures, urban legends, and the dark recesses of his own mind. These creations come from his own personal expression of the edgier sanctums of raw emotion, sexuality, dark humor, and death. As these darker subjects are sometimes difficult to bring to light in casual conversation, we tend to try our hand at humor as a vehicle to soften the blow. In the same manner, Rick infuses his beasts with often humorous backstories and comical descriptions, complicating our view of these beings of the dark as purely “evil” or “scary.”

While working on changing the world through his art, Rick teaches and is co-owner of Big Umbrella Studios. He is also an Ambassador for Crescent Cardboard, representing their product throughout the arts community in the SF Bay Area. For more about Rick and his artwork, please visit his website rickkitagawa.com.