Hiroaki Shioya

Hiroaki Shioya was born in Shizuoka, Japan, in 1953.

Shioya graduated from the Japan Design School in 1974, specializing in commercial design. After his studies, he was hired by an advertising agency.

In 1980, Shioya began working as a freelance artist. Since 1994, Shioya has been designing calendars, packaging and puzzles for Oriental Land at Tokyo Disney Resort. He also created a “Grand Opening” poster for Tokyo Disney commemorating the 5th anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland. In the 1990s, Shioya's works were shown in group exhibitions entitled “Contemporary Art in Japan” at the Art 54 gallery in New York. In 1993, Shioya received the 60th annual Mainichi Advertising and Design Award, as well as several awards for book covers. In 1996, Shioya held a solo exhibition of his original works at Space Sugar entitled “Be on the Horizon”. In 1998, he exhibited new original works at the same venue in “Illustrators Show 5”.

Hiroaki Shioya has created numerous illustrations for video game covers and puzzles, as well as covers for famous detective novels in Japan.

Shioya always strives to produce warm, authentic works with a delicate style.

He has always been fascinated by American cars of the 1950s and 1960s, everyday objects and country landscapes. These gentle elements nourish his creativity and, in his view, represent the human spirit.

Another reason for his fascination with the American countryside comes from certain films and TV series he watched as a child. They were very different from Japanese productions, which made a deep impression on him.

Shioya has had the opportunity to create works imbued with American nostalgia, and this work has brought him great happiness.

There are many works of art filled with human emotion; Shioya would like to evoke the same emotion through his own creations.