TWOONE

TWOONE (Hiroyasu Tsuri) is a Japanese street artist and painter. He developed an interest in drawing and crafting at an early age through skateboard graphics and graffiti. In 2004, TWOONE moved to Melbourne, Australia where he joined the underground street art scene, quickly gaining prominence as one of Australia’s finest street artists. TWOONE also explores other mediums including sculpture, gallery painting, installation and live performances.

After graduating from Visual Arts New Media at Swinburne University, Melbourne in 2006, TWOONE started exhibiting his paintings in galleries and museums across the globe. With his unique combination of elements derived from nature, animals, abstract shapes, and color to create his art, he has garnered international recognition for his striking large scale public murals. TWOONE allows onlookers to interpret his work based on how they feel rather that giving it a definitive representation.

His Japanese heritage strongly influences his work in the way he balances his canvas. In contrast to the Western way of painting where adding more to fill the space is a part of the process, the Asian influences focus more on the negative space at play with the main subjects.

 “I’m very much trying to leave body movements and rough lines rather than trying to polish everything. I think I like the idea of my pieces being open. I think that when we say ‘finished’, a lot of people may picture a very polished, maybe almost like graphic design, perfect picture. I just try not to define my process, or medium or even the style to one thing. In practice, I think that’s how I make changes.”

TWOONE has exhibited in Berlin, Milan, Melbourne, London, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Chicago, and Bangkok. He has self-published four books, and has been featured in numerous publications including VNA Magazine, National Gallery of Australian Catalog of Australian Street Art, Street Studio, Wooden Toy Magazine, Desktop Magazine, and Collide Art & Culture Magazine. His work is in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Australia. TWOONE is currently based in Berlin.