Kris Goto is a Honolulu-based artist whose work playfully bridges her Japanese heritage, global upbringing, and island life in Hawaiʻi. Born in Kagoshima, Japan, and raised in Hong Kong before moving to New Zealand, Kris eventually made Hawaiʻi her home in 2006. These cross-cultural experiences shaped her distinct artistic voice: one that is rooted in tradition yet unafraid to bend reality into whimsical, dreamlike worlds.
A self-taught artist inspired by manga, surf culture, and the organic forms of everyday life, Kris is best known for her intricate pen-and-ink drawings and large-scale murals. Her work often features recurring motifs - umbrellas drifting through waves, fish swimming in surreal spaces, or musubi playfully reimagined - each infused with a sense of humor, intimacy, and curiosity. While her lines are delicate and precise, her subject matter pushes the boundaries of the ordinary, transforming familiar imagery into something unexpected and thought-provoking.
