Well-known Itoshima artist-run gallery, studio and residency programme Studio Kura will host an exhibition featuring the work of nine international artists currently working at the space. The artists come from Colombia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, the Netherlands, and Mexico.
• 3/23 (Sat.), 3/24 (Sun.)
• 11:00~18:30, Artist talk on 3/23: 15:00~
• Free
• Studio Kura
• 586 Nijo-masue, Itoshima City, Fukuoka
• https://studiokura.info/en/
The following outlines the nine artists and their work.
Ric Dragon (Colombia): “Spring for Shikō”
Exhibition style: Mixed media; ink drawing/collage
A painter from New York and currently living in Bogotá, Colombia, Ric presents large scale ink drawings at the Studio Kura rice storage gallery. Influenced by a Japanese woodblock printmaker Shiko Munakarta’s masterwork, the Ten Disciples, especially the shape and movements of hands, he captures the vibrant and lively expressions into his drawings.
Yuming Zhu (United States): “New Life”
Exhibition style: Sumi-e, installation art with sketch books
Yuming lives and works in America, showing sketches, Plein Air paintings and small shikishi boards this time at Studio 1. The painting is called “New Life”. Inspired by an old tree with a big hole from when it was struck by lightning and the new life which formed from the root of the tree, he depicts a powerful vitality of nature and the cycle of life. He also focuses on a variety of themes such as the beauty of traditional Japanese buildings, sacred sites, people in kimono and particularly the dramatic weather changing scenes of Itoshima.
Oliver Jerrold (United Kingdom): “Energy series”
Exhibition style: Painting
Oliver is a multi disciplinary artist, based in Colchester, UK. Visiting and sketching many numbers of local temples and shrines in Itoshima during his stay, he presents a series of paintings on the exploration and the holy energy he received through visiting the sites, in abstract/graphical and geometrical ways.
Emily Beasy (Australia): “I am a Cat”
Exhibition style: Illustration
“I am a Cat” features a collection of illustrations to Soseki Natsume’s classic piece of literature, rendered by Australian artist and illustrator Emily Beasy. Portrayed in a colourful mix of styles both of Japanese and Western influence, these works convey the diverse feelings, observations and reflections of a self-aware feline and his curious human subjects.
Luo Jiang-jiang (China): “The Obstacle / 障害”
Exhibition style: Mixed media
A Chinese contemporary visual artist, Luo got the inspiration of this exhibition from observations concerning puddles of water while walking around Fukuoka in this changing weather. The puddle can be an “obstacle” for modern life in the city, and he explores the relationship between human beings, nature, life and tools through his installation work.
Maria Schilder (Netherlands): “The Edge”
Exhibition style: Drawing
Participating from Amsterdam, Maria specializes in sculpture and object making. At this exhibition, she challenges to work on drawings of stones clinging onto the earth or slipping down in Itoshima, with the theme of her ongoing project “The Edge.”
Rody Luton (Netherlands/UK): “Porphyra”
Exhibition style: Watercolour & graphite on paper
A British/New Zealand visual artist based in Amsterdam, Rody explores her paintings inspired by the floating Nori farming view in Yanagawa. The story of Nori is a story of transmutation, of crossing boundaries and borders, of shifting across the sea and land, wet and dry, time and space, changing color and form. It connects her interest in exploring the transitory zones between different environments, surfaces and ecologies.
Pamela Gcia (Mexico): “Deeply Sinking Down”
Exhibition style: Visual Arts/Drawing
A multidisciplinary artist based in Monterrey, México. In this exhibition, Pamela shows a series of drawings which has collage like expressions with the sense of specific space-time and the narrative feel, to make viewers explore, wonder or remind them of memories. Each drawing has its own story to tell, pieces and bits that carry the peacefulness that Itoshima spreads.
Clio Berta (United States): “ouroboros”
Exhibition style: Illustrated, written, projected & sewn works
An American performance artist, composer and multimedia event producer, Clio has been residing Itoshima for nearly 3 months, gaining spiritual experience and learning a nature based lifestyle. She plans to exhibit a variety of works: projected video combining experimental musical performance and stop animation, large paper installation on Moon, written work, handmade sewn works, and Tarot card illustrations.
