For twenty-eight years of his life Itsuo Kobayashi is a chef in a soba restaurant (the soba are traditional Japanese dishes made from buckwheat pasta). Following serious alcohol-related problems he was forced to quit his job at the age of forty-six. After a period of depression he managed to overcome his ordeal and transformed his apartment into a place of artistic creation. He imagines menus composed of collages combining drawings enhanced with gouache and recipe descriptions. Some of them hide and reveal other dishes, similarly to a lid that can lifted. His work is of great delicacy, it can be linked to the tradition of Japanese prints that combine realistic treatment and inspiration found in children’s books. With his style Itsuo Kobayashi succeeds to restitute all the flavors and knowledge of his craft.
KOBAYASHI itsuo
