Oscar Oiwa, If I Were Living In

My Studio in Mexico City (1934), 2021
Oil on canvas, 54 x 70 inches (138 x 178 cm)

New YorkArt & Culture

Oscar Oiwa, If I Were Living In

From Paris, 1910, to 1950s São Paulo and beyond, Oscar Oiwa gives us an insight into his creative mind with a time travelling exhibition...

Brazilian-American visual artist, Oscar Oiwa, uses time travel, role-playing, and sheer artistic license in If I were living in, his latest exhibition currently on show at multipurpose hub for New York City-based Japanese creators, NowHere.

A conceptual meeting of the past and the present, Oiwa’s works reveal a fantasy world where he travels through time coming across some of art’s great masters, including Pablo Picasso, Giacomo Balla, Diego Rivera, and Andy Warhol. On these theoretical and fantastical travels, the artist visits places that mark his personal movements and milestones and reveal his own annotated history of 20th century art.

Oscar Oiwa, If I Were Living In at NowHere New York Wooster Street Gallery

My Studio in New York (1965), 2021
Oil on canvas, 50 x 60 inches (127 x 152 cm)

My Studio in New York, Long Island City (2021), 2021

My Studio in New York, Long Island City (2021), 2021
Oil on canvas, 90 x 88 inches (227 x 222 cm)

My Studio in Tokyo (1992), 2021

My Studio in Tokyo (1992), 2021
Oil on canvas, 90 x 88 inches (227 x 222 cm)

Each era and location——from Paris in 1910 to Milan, 1925; Mexico, 1934 to São Paulo in 1956 and more——is expressed in two forms of media, the first being powerful, large-scale oil paintings that portray the art studio he would have had in each of his chosen times, complemented by 3D digital renderings of the space, which place an avatar of the artist himself in them. Each situation of daydream whimsy is accompanied by soundtracks from seven-time Grammy nominee, Zé Luis, and will be sold as an animated NFT.

Through meticulous detail and subtle stylistic variations, Oiwa shows us each ideal workspace eight times over, the series capped off by his painting and rendering of the Long Island City studio he’s occupied for the past ten years, completing his escapades through history by ending up in the current day.

On show at New York’s NowHere gallery until 3 April, If I were living in gives us an insight into the dreams and fantasies of a frenetically creative mind.

@nowhere_newyork
@oscar.oiwa

Mexico Studio, 1934

Mexico Studio, 1934
pencil drawing on letter size paper
11 x 8.5 inches (28 x 21.6 cm)

São Paulo Studio, 1956

São Paulo Studio, 1956
pencil drawing on letter size paper
11 x 8.5 inches (28 x 21.6 cm)

Oscar Oiwa, If I Were Living In at NowHere New York Wooster Street Gallery

My Studio in Milan (1925), 2021
Oil on canvas, 54 x 70 inches (138 x 178 cm)

Studio 3, 2022

Studio 3, 2022
Mixed Media w/ acrylic box
13.5 x 11 x 4 inches (34 x 28 x 10cm)

Studio 1, 2022

Studio 3, 2022
Mixed Media w/ acrylic box
13.5 x 11 x 4 inches (34 x 28 x 10cm)

Oscar Oiwa, If I Were Living In at NowHere New York Wooster Street Gallery

My Studio in São Paulo (1956), 2021
Oil on canvas, 40 x 54 inches (102 x 137 cm)

New York Studio (Soho), 1965

New York Studio (Soho), 1965
pencil drawing on letter size paper
11 x 8.5 inches (28 x 21.6 cm)

Tokyo (Nishiarai) Studio, 1992

Tokyo (Nishiarai) Studio, 1992
pencil drawing on letter size paper
11 x 8.5 inches (28 x 21.6 cm)