The LaSells Stewart Center has a new art exhibition of Retro-Urban style prints by artist Yuji Hiratsuka to view for free from Monday, Dec. 8, through Dec. 18. 

If you are staying in Corvallis for winter break or simply want a fun mid-finals week activity, Hiratsuka’s collection offers a break from the rush and business of the holiday season. According to his artist website, his work is from 1987 to present, and is a colorful mix of human emotion incorporated with other objects such as flowers, animals, furniture, and more. 

Born in Osaka, Japan, Hiratsuka’s style reflects Japanese and Western hemisphere cultures and traditional artwork. 

The artist statement on Hiratsuka’s website explains, “My prints explore the complex relationship of paper, ink and etched plates to describe my thought, as well as the relationship which occurs between figures and space to express other human experiences.”

His work is displayed all over the world in museums and libraries, including The British Museum, Tokyo Central Museum, Portland Art Museum, New York Public Library, The Smithsonian’s Museum of Asian Art, and more. 

Now a professor of printmaking at OSU, Hiratsuka has a B.S. in Art Education from Tokyo Gakugei University, as well as degrees in printmaking from New Mexico State University and Indiana University. 

His website biography notes that “Hiratsuka has received numerous international awards. Since 2010 he has had 13 solo shows in the US, as well as in Korea, Canada and Northern Ireland.”

The LSC is located on the OSU campus, across from Reiser Stadium. It is closed on weekends, but will have the gallery open to view every day during the week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“This collection celebrates an artist who has continually expanded the expressive possibilities of print, transmuting technical mastery with rich, imaginative visual language,” the LSC event website says.