Art Analysis - Karin Hosono

Noon by Karin Hosono · Oil on Canvas, 2023

I say, relatively often for an agnostic, that cats must be God's favorite animal. I joke that they have impeccable shape language, that they're a perfect design, and I don't think myself to be alone in this belief. In fact, one of my favorite contemporary artists is Karin Hosono, a Japanese oil painter that near-exclusively paints portraits of cats.

I'd like to take this opportunity to gush a little about her work. I first stumbled across it on Twitter a few years ago, and have followed her closely ever since. Her pieces are instantly recognizable thanks to her unique style-- a combination of her choices across all visual elements. In particular, I think her use of color, shape, tone, and often pattern, are very well-developed and distinct.

 
かぜ · ('Kaze'/Wind) by Karin Hosono · Oil on canvas, 2024

Color

Hosono often works with a fairly limited palette, and usually in a small range of temperature. In both of the above pieces, for example, almost all of the hues fall within a cool range. In Noon, what appears to be two orangish brown cats are actually made up of varying shades of purple, the Siamese cat in Wind leaning greener than a true cream and brown. This results in very cohesive pieces that are easy on the eye, and in these two pieces, at least, evoke a calm atmosphere.

Changes between color are smooth and leave the work with a soft appearance. This is also a strong point of Hosono’s tone use. 

 
君を連れてくよ('Kimi o tsurete ku yo'/I'll bring you) by Karin Hosono · Oil on canvas, 2023

Tone

Shadows in Hosono's paintings aren’t particularly exaggerated in one direction of depth or the other. Her scenes are most often lit and rendered realistically, though her shading is soft, and creates forms that appear 'squishy' to the touch— something I find uniquely enjoyable about her art. She does tend to stick to midtones and shadows, with few if any true highlights or reflective surfaces in most pieces. I think this also contributes to the resultant calm feel and easy viewing experience! 

Her values flow from light to dark in a smooth gradation, and a gentle shadow on the outer edges of the subjects' separates them from the background while also giving them a pillowy-soft look. 

 

海へ ('Umi e'/To the Sea) by Karin Hosono · Oil on canvas, 2024

Form

Cats come in many shapes and sizes. The forms that Hosono uses exemplify this, and are where I think her personal style really becomes evident. She uses simple, organic shapes for her cats, emphasizing sleekness, silliness, and the overall 'feeling' of what makes a cat. Hosono has been quoted saying that her goal with her work is to capture "120% of a cat’s essence, more cat-like than a cat itself." Their heads are squat and wide, their big eyes made bigger, and short muzzles shorter. I think the exaggerated proportions of her forms really sell this extra cat-like-ness!

 

メロン (Melon) by Karin Hosono · Oil on canvas, 2024

Pattern

In many works, Hosono utilizes a specific set of proportions. She repeats these in background elements and effects to create whimsical scenes with cat-like tomatoes, clouds, and overlays. This consistency builds up a certain memorability, and makes her work instantly recognizable to me. I love the world that she's built around her subjects, exuding nothing but love for cats!

 

 

くも · ('Kumo'/Clouds) by Karin Hosono · Oil on canvas, 2024

 

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Works Cited

 

“Karin Hosono (@KarinHosono) / X.” X (Formerly Twitter), 2025, x.com/KarinHosono. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

“Karin Hosono (@Karinhosono) Instagram Photos and Videos.” Instagram.com, 2025, www.instagram.com/karinhosono/?hl=en. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

“Karin Hosono Solo Exhibition - Arakawa - Overflowing | TRiCERA ART CLiP.” TRiCERA ART | Marketplace of Global Contemporary Art, TRiCERA Inc, 5 Sept. 2024, www.tricera.net/artclip/blog987. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.