shashasha

This special edition of Oscar Oiwa’s 2023 artbook “Art for the First Time” presents the entirety of the book printed on individual wooden boards. This natural material lends an exceptional physical presence to Oiwa’s lighthearted, optimistic drawings and allows for brilliantly vivid colors and textures of the prints.
In contrast to the regular edition, the written text accompanying each image is now found on a supplementary sheet (printed on high-quality paper) to give each of Oiwa’s images more freedom and space to unfold their childlike magic.

Originally published in 1995, Oiwa’s “Art for the First Time” follows an inquisitive ten-year old boy and his pet dog as they explore answers to a simple question: what is art? Through cute and imaginative drawings, we find out how and why art is made, what it is good for, what makes someone an artist (and, crucially, what makes someone a good artist), and learn about several media and genres.

“What is art? How should I look at art? And what do artists do?

Since I was a child, I have been drawing and making things.
Even though I never joined an art club at school or studied at an art university, I always enjoyed being creative, learning new techniques and continued drawing out of my own desire.
I find it wonderful when human imagination is expressed and comes to life.
The first half of this book was published in 1995, when I was still in my twenties and had just started to work as a professional artist. I wanted to share the joy of art and of being creative in a simple, easy-to-understand way.
Although it sounds a little exaggerated, this picture book eventually took thirty years to create. Thirty years is pretty much an entire generation, and people who were children back in 1995 may now have children of their own, perhaps of the same age as they were then.
Just as wine improves with age, I set out to create a new picture book based on the same concept, updated for a new generation.
I already wonder what the book would look like in another thirty years…”

— Oscar Oiwa