“Jumping Frog” by Motomichi, a contemporary multimedia artist known for his bold, graphic illustrations of imaginary mythical creatures, in solid black, white, and red. Exploring his fascination with cryptozoology—the pseudoscientific study of legendary or extinct animals whose existence is disputed—the piece appears at first glance as an abstract investigation into minimalist organic form. Upon closer inspection, a strip of bright red punctuated by white dots reveals itself to be a set of teeth against the black blob-like body of an imaginary being. The title, which seems to describe something vastly different from what Motomichi presents to us visually, only further complicates our understanding of the piece. Measuring 74 inches tall by 56 inches wide, the unique canvas piece includes the artist’s signature.

Contemporary multimedia artist Motomichi is known for his unique synthesis of animation, sound, and projection with more traditional media like drawing and painting. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Motomichi moved to New York City to study at Parsons School of Design, graduating in 1996 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration. His signature style merges the formal, graphic qualities of illustration and design with the fluidity of painting, using a minimal palette of solid black, white, and vibrant red. Motomichi’s work often investigates themes related to the human psyche and the complexity of emotion, using traditional mythology and folklore as a canvas on which to project these curiosities. Some of his most notable two dimensional works are seen in his Monster series, a collection of imagined cryptozoological creatures that the artist uses as visual representations of our fears, and all of the nuances contained within them. Motomichi has exhibited at museums and galleries around the world, including the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, Winzavod Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow, MARCO in Monterrey, Mexico, and the Taubman Museum of Art in Virginia.