keiichi tanaami's playful art

I love surrealism, the school of art dedicated to expressing the imagination – free of reason and convention – like in a dream.

I marvel at how the artist can piece together unrelated images, and in the end, create a picture so beautifully absurd that every element seems to be in the right place.

While surrealists Salvador Dali and Giorgio de Chirico come to mind first, I am featuring the works of the contemporary Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami.

Tanaami is well-known in the field of graphic design and publishing, and is popularly referred to as the Asian Peter Max. In 1975, he became artistic director of Playboy Japan and was responsible for infusing it with fresh and daring artistic content. His art is characterized by sexy and colorful pop art combined with an exuberant, avant-garde slant.

The surrealistic influence is apparent in his toy designs featured here – from his BWWT 5 Bearbrick (top, left) to his Rolling 60s bust collection (left & above, right).

Surrealistic toys – what a playful idea!

(Info from Anipages Daily. Tanaami toy busts available at Paul Smith UK)