A native of Yokohama (San Diego’s sister city), Japanese artist Rocco Satoshi has been creating graffiti art in San Diego since the 1980’s.
Started exchanges with muralists in San Diego after he produced a wall painting at the Yokohama Exotic Showcase in 1989, collaborated with Chicano artist in San Diego in 1990 and 1991.
The projects include a shop on Goldfinch Street, a wall at Bethune Elementary School and a freeway overpass at Chicano Park, Albert Einstein Academies in South Park and the wall of the Old Carnation Factory in East Village (The Reincarnation Project).
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Photos by Wayne Buss.
In the late 1970s, he started painting strange-silhouetted murals under the elevated railway tracks of the Toyoko Line in Sakuragicho, and currently, he is known as the originator of wall painting. He painted one of the largest pavilions in the Yokohama Exotic Showcase ’89 and provided his works to the important landscapes that formed the city character of Yokohama, such as the new Honmoku District, the Minato Mirai 21 District, and the Yokohama Portside District. In 1995, his paintings on municipal buses attracted public attention. He has also received many requests for murals from the private sector.
His works have been permanently exhibited in The Hakone Open-Air Museum since 1995. He was in charge of the event for the Shibuya Dojunkai Apartments and the large mural in Omotesando. On the other hand, he has been based in San Diego, California, since 1990, whose mayor issued a Declaration of Gratitude to him. At the commemorative concert for the 50th anniversary of Bob Marley’s birth, he received a Peace Prize. He was also chosen as one of the Best 10 in the Art of the Year in that year. In 1999, he won the Encouragement Award in Yokohama Cultural Award and the Art Category Award.
Along with his art activities, he has been sponsoring workshops. In particular, to deepen connections among the town, schools, and families, he has had many discussions with parents, teachers, and the municipality and has been putting a lot of effort into the reforms of children’s lives and school environments through art.
via: https://nishisenkoh.com/en/products/rocco/
His works have been permanently exhibited in The Hakone Open-Air Museum since 1995. He was in charge of the event for the Shibuya Dojunkai Apartments and the large mural in Omotesando. On the other hand, he has been based in San Diego, California, since 1990, whose mayor issued a Declaration of Gratitude to him. At the commemorative concert for the 50th anniversary of Bob Marley’s birth, he received a Peace Prize. He was also chosen as one of the Best 10 in the Art of the Year in that year. In 1999, he won the Encouragement Award in Yokohama Cultural Award and the Art Category Award.
Along with his art activities, he has been sponsoring workshops. In particular, to deepen connections among the town, schools, and families, he has had many discussions with parents, teachers, and the municipality and has been putting a lot of effort into the reforms of children’s lives and school environments through art.
via: https://nishisenkoh.com/en/products/rocco/