Cauro Hige's gentle masculine illustrations

Cauro Hige's art offers a sensual and stoic exploration of masculinity, presenting strong figures that balance strength with an echo of intimacy and vulnerability. Emerging as a self-taught artist from Osaka, Hige has made a mark in the online art world since 2008 with his evocative use of acrylic on wood and intricate digital illustrations. His portraits of muscular or bearlike men reveal a dynamic interplay between raw physicality and subtle emotional resonance, often evoking complex narratives within each piece. His work invites viewers into a contemplative space, where the male form and reverie meet.

“If you take a close look at my paintings, you'll find that I pour as much energy into decorations as into the main subject. All the elements are equally essential in the world I represent.”

Growing up, Hige’s passion for art was nurtured at home, influenced by his father, an artist who introduced him to the time-honoured craft of woodblock printing—a medium rich in Japanese heritage. His visual language was also shaped by his mother, a fashionista with a strong sense of style. Though Hige initially pursued psychology, completing a thesis at Kyoto University on the evolution of masculinity, it wasn’t until years later that he fully embraced his creative side. This exploration of masculinity continues to resonate in his art, where he examines the complexities of gender. His figures express a tension between traditional masculine ideals and a softer, more vulnerable essence, translating masculinity into a visual narrative that unfolds with depth. Since beginning his artistic journey in 2008, Hige’s work has been showcased in galleries across Los Angeles, Sydney, Spain, New York City, Tokyo, and has appeared in numerous magazines and books.

"I love artworks that represent opposite elements at once...Van Gogh’s work are bold yet sensitive, Klimt’s are gorgeous and fragile, and Hopper’s are bright but lonely."

Opposites and the layering of imagery within Hige's work are defining characteristics of his distinctive style. His often-nude muscular figures—typically

solitary—are adorned with intricate details, symbols, and sometimes natural elements. 2D line work outlines his figures, while photorealistic portraits add depth. Layered with flat patterns, text, or symbols, his works take on a collage-like effect, cut out from Hige’s imagination and affixed through drawing, constantly reminding viewers that they are exploring a surreal reality fused with imagination. This interplay of realism and fantasy creates a space for viewers to engage with his characters—figures that seem both distant and intimate, grounded and ethereal.

"I especially love depicting the light delicate appearance of flowers, birds, butterflies, and fish. I was unaware why I often painted them along with a guy. Now I say, I would like to celebrate his handsomeness with beautiful creatures I love. Celebration is key. Those adornments are a sign of celebration.”

The men, sometimes enveloped by delicate florals, fauna, or modern graphic symbols, are positioned as icons of a more complex, evolving masculinity that—despite their flat in appearance—resists a one-dimensional interpretation. This decorative approach not only enhances the beauty of the figures but deepens their narrative, hinting at individual stories and cultural connections to the natural world. They soften the boldness of his figures, creating an intriguing balance between strength and fragility. They invite the viewer to look the physicality of the men and consider the stories embedded within Hige’s reverie of them.

Behind big chests, bulging muscles, briefs, and beards, these men are littered with myriad tokens that infer a job, a busy day at the office, perhaps they are a tradesman. They could be a sportsperson, interested in zoology. Often our imaginations are allowed or encouraged to wander alongside Hige’s. In one example a man is taking the bus home and looking off into the distance, perhaps searching for something more, unaware that we are looking at them, wondering who they are, where they are going, and what they are thinking. They are dressed as workers or cooks we may see in daily life. Some have their backs to us or are positioned in the distance. A few are pointing their phone cameras at us, which we instantly assume from social media means they are taking a selfie, showcasing how Hige collects these men and translates them.

Beyond mere decoration, these adornments add a layer of storytelling, suggesting cultural significance, personal identity, and even a curated vision of masculinity—a reflection of both the artist’s desires and society’s evolving views on gender. Hige’s work is heavily influenced by the traditional art of Ukiyo-e, the wood carved artwork prints from Japan's Edo period. The style of these artworks is defined by their means of production, and the limitations of this process. Wood carvings are used to make multiple prints of the same image, originally it was used to print books and book illustrations, but eventually this imagery became single sheet artworks. Much like these iconic woodblock prints his father once made, Hige’s visual language features bold contours, vibrant flat colours, and intricate decorative elements, giving his pieces a distinctly graphic and eye-catching quality. In both styles, there is a focus on surface design, limiting depth and perspective, making the aesthetic illustrative and flat.

"I'm influenced by woodblock printing so deeply that it's quite hard to set myself in a different way. I realise that I always capture the world by boundary lines. Ukiyo-e pictures were made by a studio team rather than by an individual artist. By dividing the whole process into small parts, they succeeded in producing as many pictures as possible. Layering imagery digitally and referring to online images may be my version of dividing the process into smaller parts."

Ukiyo-e prints often depicted everyday scenes—from urban pleasures to natural landscapes—and Hige mirrors this approach by drawing inspiration from the modern, everyday masculinity he encounters through social media and pop culture. Just as Ukiyo-e artists captured the beauty of courtesans and kabuki actors in stylised forms, Hige portrays masculine figures in an exaggerated, idealised way, with muscular, bear-like bodies adorned with decorative patterns. His depictions of

masculinity, like the figures in Ukiyo-e, are stylized, symbolic, and often elevated to a status of admiration and longing.

Hige's works similarly echo the decorative richness seen in Ukiyo-e, where elaborate patterns and natural elements were used to embellish and enhance the subjects. Hige, however, brings a contemporary twist, merging these traditional influences with modern everyday life, allowing his work to occupy a unique space between traditional imagery and modern masculinity.

"My imagination takes over when I see someone attractive in a photograph or in real life. I begin to imagine stories about him, which becomes the foundation for my work. I start wondering, what does he do on his day off? What does his room look like? What does he love? This inspires many small stories and associated imagery that find their way into the work."

In some of Hige’s work, we can see the use of acrylic on plywood or board. While beautiful, these compositions are often more conservative in their layering of imagery. We are reminded of Hige's talent as a painter, which is sometimes not at the forefront of our minds when we look at digital paintings. The acrylic pieces sometimes reveal the wood texture crackling through the skin of the figures, adding a certain charm. The digital art then seems to play between the photographic and the illustrative, between drawn lines and comic book-style inking outlines. This quality is in flux throughout his work; he experiments with a range of styles.

The digital compositions reveal much more of Hige’s fascination with storytelling and idolising these male figures. Although the figures may be partially or fully nude, they do not exist solely for sexual gratification. Hige adorns them with flowers, patterns, and objects that protect them from being perceived as pornography. They resemble a scrapbook of male attraction, exploring what attributes and qualities he desires. The layering of imagery alongside these masculine portraits anchors them with a tenderness or sensitivity that offsets any overt sexual play. Within the flat space of his digital art and paintings, we are allowed to imagine or build stories for these characters, placing them in a space of playful curiosity and sensitivity rather than simple sexual digest or gratification; it is masculinity laid bare in each composition.

"Now I guess it was partly because my life was like that of a spy. If someone near me had noticed that I loved men, my social life would have ended right then. You know, there's a lot of peer pressure in Japan. People eliminate alien elements instantly. I grew my sensitivity very carefully lest I be discriminated against as gay. It might sound strange, but even now, while I'm in Japan, I'm nervous and scared of exposing my sexuality."

Rarely in Hige's work do we see the men engage with one another; there is sometimes a disavowal of male sexuality, and there is never a celebration of the men in union or engaging with one another. They often look off into the distance, back-to-back, without making eye contact. There's a sense of loneliness and longing in these images. The images where Hige has drawn men not engaging with the viewer reveal his study of masculinity in his art, suggesting voyeurism and curiosity. This may explain why they become decorated and adored by the artist, coveted and revered, but never consummated or overt. A beautiful relationship between apprecation and restraint.

"When the chief editor of G-men (a major Japanese gay magazine, 1995-2016) found me as its future cover artist, he modified my style, saying that the guy in my painting should look at the viewer if he's painted as a pin-up man. Before that, my works were too introspective or poetic to appeal to a large audience. I started digital painting at that time, and my paintings gradually became more popular and caught on."

In Hige’s work, the men do not simply exist for our pleasure or sexual gratification. His artworks balance admiration with critique, merging the iconic strength of his subjects with vulnerability. Through his complex layering of traditional Japanese motifs, modern digital techniques, and the embodiment of gender narratives, Hige creates a space for reflection on what it means to observe, desire, and understand masculinity in contemporary society and art.

The men although posed to be admired for their beauty and strength, always remain out of reach—pinups for our walls and desktop screens, forever drawing our gaze, curiosity, and imagination, but always just beyond our reach.

Cauro Hige has a website online and a shop, along with an art-book. Follow him on instagram here @caurohige

Hige is a Tom of Finland Foundation contest winner. His work has been featured in magazines, notably the online art magazine Noisy Rain. The book 100 Artists of the Male Figure, which includes some of his work, has just been released from Schiffer Publishing. And he has appeared in the Japanese magazine G-Men.

Quotes are from conversations with Cauro Hige and Tim Stokes.

Advocate. 2011. Artist Spotlight: Cauro Hige. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/art/artist-spotlight/2011/04/30/artist-spotlight-cauro-hige. [Accessed 3 September 2019].

Hige, C., 2015. Bearutus. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.

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