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Nostalgia Series
This mixed media work by Kozo masterfully fuses a classical sculptural composition of two embracing figures with vibrant pop art iconography inspired by Keith Haring. Small multicolored Haring style dancing figures are scattered across the surface, while the two figures cradle a bold red radiating heart between their hands. The piece is characteristic of Kozos Nostalgia series, which intertwines the tradition of classical art with contemporary pop culture references to create a captivating fusion of whimsy and history. Displayed in a clean white frame, the work commands presence and speaks to themes of love and cultural dialogue.
- Medium
- Mixed media
- Spotted At
- Artist Studio · Kozo Art
Notes
Kozo is based in a private studio in Brooklyn. He pioneers colored micro-realistic tattoos and translates his designs onto traditional canvases and marble sculptures using a coil tattoo machine with the needle integrated into the piece itself. His work is exhibited in galleries worldwide. The Nostalgia series interwines toys and childhood nostalgia with classical art. The work features small Keith Haring style figures in blue, green, orange, and yellow scattered throughout the composition alongside a central bold red radiating heart.
Spotted works by Kozo
Artists in conversation
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Japanese · b. 1948
Sugimoto shares Kozo's deeply meditative engagement with time, impermanence, and Zen influenced minimalism, creating works where process and material restraint carry philosophical weight. Both artists work at the intersection of Eastern contemplative tradition and Western conceptual frameworks using spare, refined aesthetics.
Richard Long
British · b. 1945
Long's practice of using natural materials such as mud, stone, and earth applied directly to paper and walls mirrors Kozo's reverence for raw natural substances and meditative process. Both artists foreground the philosophical and tactile relationship between human action and elemental materials.
Cy Twombly
American · b. 1928
Twombly's works on paper share Kozo's interest in mark making as a contemplative and almost calligraphic act, with surfaces that feel both ancient and immediate. His sparse gestural language and reverence for the silence between marks parallel Kozo's wabi sabi inflected minimalism.
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