Mari Omori - Intersections: Asia / America Artist Information
This exhibition, “intersections:
asia/america” evolved from the “crossroads” exhibition, which provides us with the opportunity to identify and define who are Asian American artists in Texas and how they explore bicultural identities through a wide range of mediums and concepts. The use of material and the repetitive process through which the forms evolve and transform themselves fascinates me the most about each artist’s work. The process itself is a revolution and is intensely personal, addressing issues of identity, culture and nature.
Featured are nine artists born in Asia who now live and work in Texas. Anila Quayyum Agha (Pakistan) works with thread and paper with such skill that the classifications between the media disappear. She blurs spatial distinction as well through piercing the layered paper with thread and needle.
Bennie Flores Ansell (Philippines) photographs shoes. She prints them and manipulates images in transparent colorful butterflies. The effect is a fragile yet bold presence of feminine power.
Vachu Chilakamarri (India) paints nature in expressive abstractions. The physicality of the paints and the colors she chooses build tactile and visual sensations of the subject matter. The hanging sculptures of Kana Harada (Japan) are presented as bird cages or fixtures from the ceiling, constructed from black foam into an intricate design. The emptiness of the cages brings a thought to the viewer: Did the bird escape or was it invited to enter the cage?
Mimi Kato (Japan) adapts 11th century Japanese history of scroll painting. By creating costumes, posing, and photographing herself as animated creatures, Kato revives the ancient past and refreshes it with popular culture.
Another digital photographer, Young-Min Kang (Korea), creates cities and architectural environments from borrowed and reconstructed images. He confronts the viewer with a different form of reality.
Kay Nguyen (Vietnam)’s work symbolize the unseen hidden agenda, here, in the form of a pair of delicate porcelain shoes and an oversized capsulate pill.
Masaru Takiguchi (Japan) is a sculptor who has been working in Houston since the mid 70’s. He is most well known for his stone and wood sculptures, often in organic forms with highly polished surfaces. The current series, “waves”, consist of curves which invite flowing eye movement from the viewer. Easily forgotten are the complex repetitive processes of their making.
The work of Mari Omori (Japan) represents her heritage. She collects everyday materials and constructs room size installations to express a sense of order and harmony, an aesthetic commonly found in Japanese architecture and design. Her drawings are dark yet there is always a sign of hope arising.