Lintalow Hashiguchi  (1985 - )

Lintalow Hashiguchi was born in Nagasaki Prefecture. As a teenager, he was profoundly influenced by punk rock, which became the foundation of his creative endeavors. In 2004, he enrolled in the calligraphy program at Fukuoka University of Education, marking the beginning of his exploration into word-based expressions. Inspired by various post-war avant-garde art movements, particularly the philosophy of Yuichi Inoue—a leading post-war Japanese calligrapher who believed that "calligraphy is an art for everyone"—Hashiguchi developed his calligraphy as "energy for living daily life." He jots down spontaneous inspirations from his daily life into notebooks as fragmented words; these fragments merge and evolve like living organisms, resulting in a series of works he calls "WORD MUTANT." Utilizing inexpensive towels as writing instruments, he employs a rapid, punk-like style to swiftly complete his pieces, standing out in an era where characters have become mere symbols typed on screens or printed text. In 2015, he was selected as a member of the "Tensakukai," an exhibition honoring Yuichi Inoue. In 2018, he was chosen for "ART SHODO TOKYO." In 2019, he won the Grand Prix at the "LUMINE meets ART AWARD 2018-2019" and was a finalist in the Shell Art Award 2019. In 2020, he was selected for ARTISTS' FAIR KYOTO 2020. In 2023, he held a solo exhibition at GALLERY X in Shibuya Parco and published a collection of his works. He also participated in the special 10th-anniversary exhibition "New Horizon—From History to the Future" at Arts Maebashi. In recent years, he has expanded his exhibitions and live performances internationally, including in Hong Kong, South Korea, and France.