More than Paradise – Soichi Yamaguchi

It isn’t simply the shocked pastels he uses to block out his mix of trippy forests, dripping sensuality and human/animal hybrids that give it this quality, but rather the creamy dollops of pigment that bevel up from the canvas like icing on the surface of a birthday cake. His designs trace out patterns of flowers, latticework, and animal scales that trap the eye and seem absolutely lick-able.

The bright wavy forms of the imagery have the feel of a psychedelic concert poster from the 60’s or 70’s, or perhaps the synesthetic jigsaw qualities of 60’s visionary Bob Thomson’s paintings. There are all manner of concocted animals or simply traces of their presence felt through reminiscent forms and patterns. Mixed among them are warmer and more comforting domestic designs as well, like lace and flowers, polka-dots and pearls. Each work presents a puzzle to decipher and tends to warp as we look away and then back. The forms are distinct but malleable as each glance highlights a newer aspect of their shape or interactions.

The exhibition itself – all crammed into Magical’s tiny storefront- has a mish-mash quality to it. Some pieces are rendered monochromatically on acrylic sheets and seem a bit out of place, reflecting perhaps another – and as of yet unfinished- direction. But the morphing imagery and festive icing quality of the surface of the majority of works makes for sculptural objects that are as eye-pleasing as they are oishiisou.