Kosuke Masuda is a Japanese artist that dabbles in multiple art mediums including painting, writing and engraving. Fusing a mixture of his buddhist faith, bikes and art together to make something beautiful and unique. The art has elements of Japanese painting (Taiga), calligraphy (Shodo) and in paininting (Sumi-E) which is deeply connected to Buddhism.

Since then, he’s gone on to create more stunning artwork using a dremel as a paintbrush and the bars, stem and the chainset as the canvas. The latest creation was for Cinelli Mash – check out the gallery above for more of his past work. Highly intricate and stunning, we’d love to see what he does with the new Dura-Ace R9100!

“From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was fifty I had published a universe of designs. But all I have done before the age of seventy is not worth bothering with. At seventy five I’ll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am eighty you will see real progress. At ninety I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At a hundred I shall be a marvellous artist. At a hundred and ten everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokosai, but today I sign my self ‘The Old Man Mad About’ Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849)

Masuda’s paintings are in contrast to the minimalist engravings seen on bike parts, rendered in strikingly rich, vivid pigments in a variety of techniques and applications are a constantly evolving expansion of his intrinsically connected Buddhist and artistic practices, revealing both the micro and macro at once.

Suggesting imagery and associations from the mind and experience of the viewer, only to again morph back into the swirling, void of abstract form and colour, Masuda’s works are deep, subconscious explorations of his inner self.

Ko’s had many exhibitions and worked on countless contributions with brands, but he’s now becoming well known for these unique engraved bike-related creations. We hope to see more of his work in the future!

www.kosukemasuda.com