Hiroshi Kobayashi's paintings of stuffed animals integrate elements of Japanese ukiyo-e (woodcut printing), photography and animation, characterized by the layered pictorial space, dynamics of action, sharp lines and allegorical meaning. Inspired by these mediums the artists takes a digital photograph of a figure, and in an elaborate process manipulates the image to a draft a virtual story. With the aid of a computer, he reduces his subject into shapes and outlines reminiscent of a topographical map. Pouring fluid acrylic paints within these lines onto a prepared canvas, the artist creates an animated vision of floating figures on a smooth surface. Similar to an illusion or a single moment of a dream, these floating...