Uroborossm

Gallery MUJO presents Solo art show (Dec. 4 ~ Dec. 30, 2012)

SNOW STORM (Blizzard) --- Wind gets leaves

            Mayumi Oshima was born and raised in Buddhism environment in Japan. She moved recently to New Jersey and encountered the huge disaster “Hurricane Sandy.” It was the first biggest disaster in her life. She saw people struggled to survive and tried to maintain their living conditions under the huge disaster. In addition to many Buddhism concepts, she concerns inconceivable human vitality through “Sandy.” Whenever people face to difficulties, whatever people could do their best to survive. These experiences influence to herself and her working concept as an artist. Now she could accept any kind of human behaviors, even if it includes conceive, self-protection, ego, jealousy, and etc in addition to the Buddhism concepts --- mercy, unity, and harmony. She believes all of these human characters are strongly necessary for the “Alternation of generations.“ She feels a compelling sense of love from generation to generation.

            In the “Shore 2,” she shows the waves are dynamically changed in to many forms (generation) as if water crushed into pieces and then unified (generation to generation). This is the virtual energy of human generations. Human may transform to birds (Uroborossm) after a couple of generations like as a symbols of her dream. She flies to wherever and whenever she wants. The leaves on her head are cool and natural flames from her wisdom. However, she trapped by the snake twined around the body of feathers. She tries to knock herself out of troubles with her claws.

OCTOBER EXHIBITION (10-1-12 ~ 10-30-12)

"Sprang Out" by MACHIKO NAGANUMA

Reception: 10-13-12, 5:30 pm ~ 8:00 pm

Ms. Machiko Naganuma was born in Japan and live in the United State for a long time. She graduated from BFA at the Art Institute of Southern California (2001) and MFA at the Laguna College of Art and Design (2008). She said, “I can’t be a total Japanese or an American, because I have a mix-cultural identity and am afflicted with an imbalanced character.”

Her art is placed on her cultural setting: that is, pleasure, love, anxiety, dissatisfaction and compassion of life. She depicts women, capturing their subtle moods and differences of character. Her work synthesizes Japanese heritage and compromised American culture, so that she can unify Japanese culture, history, art, and spirit within an American context. She uses a wide range of gestures to focus on an idiosyncratic Japanese custom, but unfamiliar to Western culture. Her work connects with Ukiyoe artists who drew beautiful women and actors on the wood-block prints. One of her deepest desire is to live in a harmonious world. Ms. Naganuma makes realistic paintings that combine observing reality with perceived beauty. 

Also we invite Japanese MANGA artists (http://www.facebook.com/TeamLaJapan.)

KEIGO MORITA

September ART SHOW, 9-6-12 ~ 9-28-12

WALK (9-13-12) Open 3pm ~ 9pm

BACK TO EARTH 

             by

Kaoru Kaplan

and Kazumi Onoue

          Kaoru Kaplan is a Tokyo-born artist who splits her time between  California and Kyoto.

She has been a contributing artist to over 20  international shows throughout America and Asia. Despite the hardened ceramic material she uses, her work holds a translucent quality that delineates the delicate balance between its fragile yet simultaneously strong nature.

Kazumi Onoue DeVries artist was born and raised in Osaka, Japan.  As the child of two working parents, Kazumi states,  “I was a “latchkey kid” who was given plenty of art supplies to keep myself busy in their absence”. One of her early inspirations was the sumie by her great grand father. In her early twenties, Kazumi, in order to augment her unique Asian art background furthered her studies in the United States by getting her BA degree in Art.  She has worked with Ark of Long Beach as a volunteer, and instructed art to teenagers at the Rio Contigo detention center.  

Her career prior to making art was in graphic arts. In the past twenty years, she has been able to devote more painting. Earlier, she was very interested in doing watercolors. Most of it was realistic. More recently, due to belonging to a group called Experimental Artists South Bay, she has experimented more with different media including collage. It has resulted in art work which is much bolder in color and technique than her prior works. She works intuitively, and has been influenced by nature in some of her works.

Fifteen years ago, the artist Zoltan Tokes took an interest in Sogetsu, a more modern branch of Ikebana that is a style of flower arrangement that strays from strict design rules, encourages more freedom and experimentation. Still, as tradition goes, the training adhered to rigorous standards. He remains a student of Madam Eika Fukui, a teacher of the highest order, whose patience and imagination backed by decades of experience is a source of inspiration.                                      “During my training I often drifted away from the classical arrangements and experimented with flowers placed in ...