TengaOne (b. 1977), based in Tokyo, employs techniques ranging from street graffiti, to large-scale murals, sculptures and graphic design. He paints colorful, grotesque, and comical monsters that represent modern social issues involving war and politics. He began working on graffiti at the age of 14 and included cardboard boxes as a motif in his work which came from the childhood memory of disliking the dirty cardboard boxes his father would bring home from the meatpackers. TengaOne states that the cardboard box is familiar to all; carrying memory just as well as items. He carved wood to look like real discarded box pieces to place his graffiti over achieving both 2D and 3D effects in his pieces. Tengaone’s artworks are full of subtle details and hidden meanings urging the viewer to spend time with the work before imparting any judgement. TengaOne has exhibited in shows at Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Pinto Gallery, Los Angeles, Galerie LJ, Paris and the Contemporary Art Museum in Kumamoto. Through texture and color, he infuses his pieces with traces of struggle, consumption, injustice and reflections of his life to continue portraying the complexities of the human experience.