Works of Bart: Ken Kagami

Words by Lucy Bourton, Tuesday 20 November 2018

'For Japanese illustrator Ken Kagami, a fascination with Bart Simpson began “largely because I realised that this would be a very easy form to draw,” he tells It’s Nice That. That was 15 years ago and Ken’s love for Homer and Marge’s son has never drifted far from his heart or artistic practice. First releasing Bart Works in 2015, Ken has returned to his muse for Bart Works 2, a book comprising solely of multiple, slightly mad drawings of El Barto.

Despite drawing Bart for so long, Ken – an artist who works and lives in Tokyo and has had several exhibitions across the world, including being a surprising star at Frieze Art Fair in 2015 – still doesn’t consider himself an illustrator; hence his reasoning for sticking to what he knows (Bart). “I am not an illustrator but I use the vocabulary of illustration for my art because it is easy to draw,” says Ken, “this is the most direct way to get across my humour and my goal is to generate laughter!”'