Mizuno have commissioned legendary Japanese artist Hidekichi Shigemoto to create artist impressions of sporting moments, and lead Mizuno athletes including Brazilian forward Hulk.
Mizuno hold the belief “when an athlete is striving to achieve sporting perfection, their body becomes the embodiment of a true art form”. This is where Hidekichi works his magic to bring this true art form into iconic masterpieces.
Hidekichi has developed his unique drawing style that is brimming with speed and dynamics, using the Japanese traditional painting material of charcoal ink on his unconventional contemporary portraits such as African-American musicians or athletes.
Today his “kakejiku” scroll paintings have drawn both domestic and international attention. He has exhibited his work in Japan and in New York, and in his exhibitions he does 'live painting' performance on the spot where he paints a few drawings simultaneously.
Hidekichi Shigemoto painted Mizuno athletes as they participated in their sport. See Christian Malcolm, Yukiko Akaba, Hulk, Laslo Nagy, Viran Moros, Cristian Ugale, Jordan Larson and Federica Pellegrini in action. To explore more visit www.mizunoseiei.com.
As football, art and style continue to become more integrated with brands coming up with more creative concepts to get recognised, what do you think of Mizuno's use of Shigemoto's work? Let us know and join the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.
