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InspirationArt & Culture

Artist Shintaro Ohata blends sculptures and paintings to create 3D artworks

Japanese artist Shintaro Ohata places sculptures in front of paintings to combine different dimensions and create playful and dreamy 3D scenes, inspired by childhood memories and depicting the little things in everyday life, like scenes from a fantastical movie.

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Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist.

Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist.

Sculpted from polystyrene which are then painted to perfectly match their traditional 2D acrylic backgrounds, Ohata’s characteristic blend of 2D and 3D dimensions came about after he wondered: “I could bring the atmosphere or dynamism of my paintings with a more different way if I place sculptures in front of paintings.”

Scroll through his work and you'll be mesmerised by his imagination, discovering a young girl who might be sat on a railing with the sunset behind her, playing with a local street cat. Or a moody city scene where a woman is waiting for a train, while a troll-like creature sits close by.

You can see more of Ohata's playful and impressionistic work at Yukari-art.jp/en.

A sculptural figure sits on a railing reaching towards a fox against a sunset landscape painted behind it in Shintaro Ohata's blended 2D and 3D artwork
A hand reaches towards a sculptured cat perched on an orange railing, with a golden sunset painting creating an atmospheric background in Shintaro Ohata's blended 2D and 3D artwork
Two green painted polystyrene figures sit facing each other with a turquoise stool between them, set against a green-toned painting of an interior space
Two polystyrene sculptures painted green sit in front of a large green-tinted painting, creating a layered 3D artwork by Shintaro Ohata
Pink-haired figure riding a pink bicycle with a basket against a painted backdrop of bare trees and city buildings
Polystyrene sculpture of a pink figure with outstretched arms positioned in front of an acrylic painting of bare trees in muted earth tones
A sculptural troll-like creature with textured brown skin sits in front of an acrylic painting of bare tree branches and a city skyline in warm tones
A figure sculpted from polystyrene sits slumped at a table in front of a blue pixelated cityscape painting by Shintaro Ohata
Woman resting her head on a table with a drink and plate in front of a cityscape painted backdrop in Shintaro Ohata's blended 2D and 3D artwork
Shintaro Ohata's turquoise painted polystyrene sculpture of a figure with outstretched arms positioned in front of a painting of a rainy city street at night
Blue and yellow sculpted figure with head tilted back stands before a pixelated urban street scene in Shintaro Ohata's blended 2D and 3D artwork
A young girl sits on a black railing suspended in front of a luminous green-tinted cityscape painting in Shintaro Ohata's mixed media artwork
A sculptured figure in a black hat and jacket stands in front of a moody blue-green cityscape painting in Shintaro Ohata's mixed-media artwork
A wooden carousel horse sculpture with a figure riding it, positioned in front of a glowing golden pixelated painting on a gallery wall
A sculpted figure sits against a golden pixelated background painting, creating a layered 3D artwork by Shintaro Ohata
A polystyrene sculpture of a girl sitting on a chair overlays a painted cityscape at dusk, with floating bubbles in the purple sky, creating a 3D blended artwork by Shintaro Ohata
A silhouetted figure stands on a wooden railing overlooking a warm-toned cityscape, combining a painted background with a sculpted foreground figure
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