Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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Sush Machida's exuberant style has earned him fans like Los Angeles Times art critic David Pagel, who writes, "Pop art never looked more scorchingly gorgeous or wickedly Zen." COVER, AT LEFT: Uneri-zu (2016). Japanese-born painter Sush Machida, 43, has made a distinctive mark on the city of Las Vegas with his bril- liantly colorful Pop murals. His work includes the large-scale mural he painted with Tim Bavington on Downtown's Emergency Arts building and 2,000 square feet of peaceful and happy murals for Hope Corridor at Clark County's Child Haven, which he supports for its work in protecting children from abuse. Machida's artistic lexicon is vast: Waves and clouds create minimalist forms that bring Japanese woodcut traditions solidly into the now; brightly hued tigers represent Japanese symbols of luck; and other works teem with colorful fish, air fresheners, perfume bot- tles, and cigarette packs. The pop muralist is making his mark on Las Vegas in other ways, too: Machida is donating a work of art through Vegas's Art of the City project to assist in the massive fundraising effort to build The Modern (the modernlv.org), a contemporary art museum planned for Downtown's burgeoning arts neighborhood. Of Machida's work, renowned art critic David Hickey says, "It's always kind of crazy, but it's never too much, never more than you want. It's just right—exquisite and graceful. It lives on the surface." Machida's work appears in "Tilting the Basin: Contemporary Art of Nevada" at the Nevada Museum of Art, August 5–October 23; nevadaart.org. sushmachida.com S U S H M AC H I DA WITH HIS UNAPOLOGETIC EAST- MEETS-WEST FUN FUSION STYLE, THIS POP MURALIST HAS LEFT A STRONG IMPRINT ON THE CITY. BY KRISTEN PETERSON L A S VEGA S BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 87