Matsuyama spent his childhood between Japan and the United States, and the influences of his bicultural background are evident in paintings such as "Something Came Together," above. He explores cultural touchstones, globalization, and national identity in electrifying and often large-scale paintings, murals, and sculptures. His work is inspired by Japanese, French Renaissance, and contemporary art, and his broad-ranging subjects include cowboys and samurai, graffiti and classical Greek and Roman statuary. 

Matsuyama was born in Japan in 1976 and now lives in New York, where he received an MFA from Pratt Institute in 2004. Since then his art has captured imaginations around the globe, with gallery exhibitions, murals, and sculptural installations in cities such as Tokyo, San Francisco, Dubai, Melbourne, Los Angeles, and New York.