Collection: Atsushi Maeda / 前田 純

学生時代バンド・デシネの影響を受けて細密漫画を描き、ゲーム企業のキャラクターデザイナー・アートディレクターを経て、2022年活動開始。白と黒の細密な線の少年たちはUIデザイン、販促デザインを極めた経験による合理的な企画として始まり、ストリートカルチャーに現代的ハードボイルドを融合させた独自スタイルでクール且つコミカルなストーリーを想起させる作風として注目を集めています。また、フリーハンドのライブドローパフォーマンスに強くこだわり、国内・海外の個展やグループ展に精力的に参加しています。

Based in Tokyo.
After working as an apparel, manga artist, and game designer, started activities in May 2022.
A person who draws hard-boiled and smiley lines.
Many of my fine line drawings are drawn using manga pens and tablets.
Active in a wide range of activities such as black marker live painting.

Born in 1978.
At the age of 19, I was influenced by Bande Dessinée and drew detailed cartoons.
My unique style that fuses modern hard-boiled with my street culture is attracting attention as a style that evokes cool and comical stories.

I am doing exhibitions and live events such as providing artwork such as FACTORY900.

Atsushi Maeda, an artist characterized by his intricate line drawings, incorporates street culture with a contemporary hard-boiled twist into his artwork. His style and theme were influenced by the subtle smile of Marlow, the protagonist in the film "The Long Goodbye", a gesture and expression that is often difficult to express in words. His inspiration for creating artwork comes from everything that sparks his interest, particularly his desire for objects. He feels the urge to draw lines when observing detailed plants, crafts of carpenters from the imperial palace, and the structure of engines.

The common concept in his artwork is the "Hard-boiled Smile". Through his artwork, Maeda hopes to express the power and joy of drawing lines, and the expressive power that can be achieved through lines. His ideal creative process is to create freely with freehand based on the situation at the time.

He uses both analog and digital means in his creations. His long-time favorite tools are the round pen for manga and a black marker that he often uses at events. Recently, he often uses a tablet due to its convenience.

He recalls an unfinished artwork from about a decade ago that became the starting point for his current artistic activities. Looking ahead, he has expressed interest in participating in live drawing projects. For Maeda, art is something he loves, and he started creating because he was influenced by the 'bandes dessinées' (French comics) of Jean Giraud Moebius.

When asked what he would like the audience to focus on in his work, he points to his hard-boiled lines. His goal through art and self-expression is to continue painting, as he believes this would be the greatest achievement.

前田純，一位巧妙利用精細線條繪畫的藝術家，他的藝術作品融合街頭文化與現代冷硬派。他的風格和主題是受到電影 「The Long Goodbye」中主角馬洛的微笑所影響，這種微妙的表情和姿態往往難以用言語表達。他的創作靈感來自於他對所有引起他興趣的事物，尤其是對物品的慾望。當他觀察到細緻的植物、神社/寺廟木匠的工藝品和引擎結構時，他就會產生繪畫線條的衝動。

作品中共通的概念是「冷硬派的微笑」，透過他的藝術作品，前田希望表達繪畫線條的力量和樂趣，以及透過線條可以展現表現力。他的理想創作過程是根據當時的情況，以手繪的方式自由地創作。

他在創作中常使用手繪跟電繪兩種方法。長年愛用的工具是繪畫漫畫的圓筆和黑色麥克筆，考量到便利性，他也經常使用平板電腦。

他特別記得約十年前一個未完成的作品，這成為他現在藝術活動的起點。展望未來，他表示有興趣參與現場繪圖的項目。對前田來說，藝術是他熱愛的東西，他之所以開始創作，是因為他受到讓·吉羅·莫比烏斯的 「bandes dessinées」（法國漫畫）的影響。

當被問到他希望觀眾在他的作品中注意什麼東西，他指出了他的冷硬線條。他透過藝術和自我表達的目標是繼續繪畫，因為他認為這是最大的成就。