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For 32 Years, This Japanese Chef Has Been Making a Painting of Every Single Meal He Eats. See His Mouth-Watering Work Here
Long before there was Instagram cuisine, Itsuo Kobayashi was
taking the time to document each and every meal he ate—not with his
smartphone, but with pen and ink, filling notebook after notebook with
delicious-looking paintings.
The Japanese outsider artist and professional cook, born in 1962, first began keeping food diaries as a teenager. In his 20s, he began adding illustrations of the dishes he made at work, and those he ate while dining out.
His 32-year practice really kicked into high gear, however, when his health took a turn for the worse. At the age of 46, Kobayashi began suffering from alcoholic neuritis. The debilitating neurological disorder made it difficult for him to walk, leaving him largely confined to his home. In the years since, Kobayashi’s art has become all the more important, with each meal serving as a creative outlet for the homebound artist.
“After getting sick and having difficulty going out, he began to draw lunch boxes,” N. Kushino, the artist’s dealer, told Artnet News in an email. The dealer, who runs Kushino Terrace gallery in Fukuyama, Japan, learned of Kobayashi in December 2014.
“I found a small painting of Kobayashi’s at an exhibition of the art
of the handicapped in Saitama Prefecture,” Kushino said. “When I visited
his home, there were thousands of artworks.”
These days, Kobayashi relies mostly on food deliveries—sometimes from restaurants, sometimes from his mother. And though his day-to-day existence rarely varies, he’s been pushing his practice in a new direction, creating a new series of pop-up paintings.
Kushino Terrace gave Kobayashi his US debut in January, at New York’s Outsider Art Fair. His works sell for between $500 and $3,000.
See more of the artist’s work below.
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The Japanese outsider artist and professional cook, born in 1962, first began keeping food diaries as a teenager. In his 20s, he began adding illustrations of the dishes he made at work, and those he ate while dining out.
His 32-year practice really kicked into high gear, however, when his health took a turn for the worse. At the age of 46, Kobayashi began suffering from alcoholic neuritis. The debilitating neurological disorder made it difficult for him to walk, leaving him largely confined to his home. In the years since, Kobayashi’s art has become all the more important, with each meal serving as a creative outlet for the homebound artist.
“After getting sick and having difficulty going out, he began to draw lunch boxes,” N. Kushino, the artist’s dealer, told Artnet News in an email. The dealer, who runs Kushino Terrace gallery in Fukuyama, Japan, learned of Kobayashi in December 2014.
Itsuo Kobayashi has been turning his every meal into art for 32 years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
These days, Kobayashi relies mostly on food deliveries—sometimes from restaurants, sometimes from his mother. And though his day-to-day existence rarely varies, he’s been pushing his practice in a new direction, creating a new series of pop-up paintings.
Kushino Terrace gave Kobayashi his US debut in January, at New York’s Outsider Art Fair. His works sell for between $500 and $3,000.
See more of the artist’s work below.
Itsuo Kobayashi, Untitled (1982/89). Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Itsuo Kobayashi, Untitled (Pop-up Paintings) 2018–19. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Work
by Itsuo Kobayashi, who has been turning his every meal into art for 32
years. Photo courtesy of Kushino Terrace, Fukuyama, Japan.
Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.
It looks like you're using an ad blocker, which may make our news articles disappear from your browser.
artnet News relies on advertising revenue, so please disable your ad blocker or whitelist our site.
To do so, simply click the Ad Block icon, usually located on the upper-right corner of your browser. Follow the prompts from there.
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