Drawing worlds

Imaginary journeys of the illustrator Kusamori Shūichi

• 

  Zeichnung aus Kusamoris Artbook "Winterkönig" – Zeichnung aus Kusamoris Artbook "Winterkönig"

• 

  Zeichnung aus Kusamoris "Winterkönig" – Zeichnung aus Kusamoris "Winterkönig"

• 

  Zeichnung aus Kusamoris "Winterkönig" – Zeichnung aus Kusamoris "Winterkönig"

• 

  Covergestaltung von Moris "Zehn Menschen, zehn Geschichten" – Covergestaltung von Moris "Zehn Menschen, zehn Geschichten"

This exhibition focuses on the art book Winter King (Fuyu no ō), published in 2018, in which the renowned anime illustrator Kusamori Shūichi presented a large number of his characteristically imaginative and detailed pencil drawings. Winterkönig was inspired by the Japanese translation of the story "Erling" by the German-Jewish writer Hugo Landsberger (pseudonym: Hans Land), which Mori Ōgai published in 1912.

Hans Land's short travel sketch from 1906, largely forgotten in German-speaking countries but well known in Japan, transports us to the impressive seascape of Denmark, whose solitude holds the story of a tragic life. Kusamori takes up central elements of the plot; his drawings, however, interweave European elements from different time periods and mythical elements to create an atmospherically dense world that extends far beyond the narrative space of the literary source. They invite us to embark on an extended journey that effortlessly transcends the boundaries between reality and dream.

In cooperation with the Riekeles Gallery, Potsdam, the exhibition shows a selection of the original drawings and juxtaposes them with Kusamori's groundbreaking works for animated films such as Metropolis (2001) as well as the most recent illustrations, which depict the setting of the science fiction novel Perdido Street Station (2000) by British author China Miéville. As is well known, these works present no less fascinating journeys to imaginary places.

The academic aim of the exhibition project is to work out the creative process of interweaving and its diverse visual sources. Such inspiration includes personal travels in East Asia and Europe and their photographic documentation as well as publications on architectural history, ranging from Cologne Cathedral to the buildings erected by the Austrian architect Otto Wagner in Vienna around 1900.

Kusamori Shūichi 草森秀一 was born Hirata Shūichi in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1961. After studying at the prestigious Tokyo Designer Academy, he was involved in projects that made Japanese animated film known globally as anime - including Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Patlabor (1989) and Ghost in the Shell (1995). As an established art director, he was responsible for meticulously crafted fictional cityscapes, laying the foundation for the worldwide success of Metropolis (2001), Innocence (2004), Psycho-Pass (2012-23) and other films and series. In 2006, he and his wife founded the company Taro House, for which he still works as art director today.

As an illustrator, Kusamori creates his works on paper (with pencil, brush and gouache) as well as digitally. He is known for the elaborate research, masterful technique and obsession with detail that go into the creation of his often dystopian universes. For some time now, he has been working on the visual adaptation of literary stories of various genres in collaboration with Japanese publishers. What appeals to Kusamori about these projects is not least the greater creative and temporal independence.

Translated with DeepL

Runtime: Thu, 30/10/2025 to Tue, 15/09/2026

Takes place here:

• Mori-Ôgai Gedenkstätte