Kobayashi, himself a creature of the city at night, is drawn to the same foreboding, nocturnal scenes that magnetized Toulouse-Lautrec. Known for his cafe and bar scenes, which dominated his work in the 90's, he has now moved to the non-smoking section and is gravitating toward quieter settings -- an afternoon tearoom, a milliner's shop, the tranquillity of a private home. Still a tonalist, he admits to a growing freedom in his use of colour. Backgrounds of red or green and the artist's extensive use of black intensify his compositional use of negative space and serve to focus attention on atmosphere. While he is less and less a painter of details, it is the hint of detail that most intrigues us, and Milt Kobayashi has perfected the fine art of subtlety.