Parco
Masatoshi Toda
Japanese, born 1948
1983
A silkscreen poster by Masatoshi Toda that uses soft, airbrushed nudes and a model’s direct gaze to sell the Parco department store, blending sensuality with commercial graphic design.
The image hits you with pale, peachy curves stacked like dunes, a sharply made-up face emerging at the lower left and a single red vertical stroke with Japanese lettering that punctuates the misty composition.
Made in 1983, this work shows how Japanese designers turned photorealistic airbrush techniques and provocative imagery into a lingua franca for fashion and retail advertising, helping to redefine poster aesthetics in the late twentieth century.
Medium
Silkscreen
Dimensions
43 x 31" (109.2 x 78.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the designer
Accession
363.1984
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
