Katsuhiro Otomo's Poster Exhibit: Discover How the Artist’s Visions of the Future Continue to Inspire the Present [1/2]

Manga artist and film director Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1 poster exhibit “’Posters’ - Otomo Katsuhiro × Graphic Design” has begun in the AL Gallery in Daikanyama, Tokyo. The exhibit will run until March 16. Entrance is free.

Katsuhiro Otomo is the artist behind such legendary works as Akira and Steam Boy. This exhibition is being held to celebrate the release of his latest art book, ’Posters’ - Otomo Katsuhiro × Graphic Design, which is published by PIE International and sells for 4,800 yen (tax not included). The 58-square-meter exhibition hall is packed, wall to wall, with specially printed reproduction posters. From his seminal manga Akira, to large-scale advertisements, to his latest film Short Peace, attendees get to experience the entirety of Katsuhiro Otomo’s creative world.

His latest art book, ’Posters’ - Otomo Katsuhiro × Graphic Design, features poster art from nearly all of his work, including manga series like Akira, promotional posters for his film works, visuals done for special events and businesses, and more. The book also comes with a B2-size Akira poster. Each piece also includes notes from Otomo, as well as commentary with graphic designer Toshiaki Uesugi, and collage artist Kosuke Kawamura. The art book will be for sale at the event.

Here’s what the editor of the art book had to say about the event: “Because the posters featured, like the ones in this exhibition, include the original typography and slogans from the time they were first published, they have a certain kind of charming and historic feel to them, which makes them even more interesting than the original. We thought we could collect them into a book, and that’s how we got started with this project. And in this exhibition we’ve used techniques such as yellow paper printing and UV printing to reproduce the full-size works in ways that we couldn’t do in the book. Our goal was to try and present the works to fans and readers in a lively and exciting way.”

^1^ Japanese manga artist and film director. Debuted in Manga Action in 1973. In 1988, he self-produced the film Akira, based off of his original manga. The film earned good reviews both in Japan and abroad, was dubbed “Japanimation,” and led the way for the worldwide Japanese animation movement. In recent years, he has been working mainly as a film director. He has won the Japan Media Arts Award for the film Short Peace, as well as the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2013.

Event Info
Name: “Posters” - Otomo Katsuhiro × Graphic Design
Venue: AL First Floor, Main Space
Address: Ebisu-nan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo-to 3-7-17
Period: Feb. 28 - March 16 (open every day)
Hours: 12:00 - 19:00 (closes at 17:00 on last day)
Entrance Fee: Free

Book Info
Name: “Posters” - Otomo Katsuhiro × Graphic Design
Size: 364 x 257 mm
Pages: 176
Binding: Softbound + special edition poster (515 x 728 mm)
ISBN: 978-4-7562-4447-5
Price: JPY4,800

Gallery AL

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.