Reiko Sakai
Matrix of the Mind: Contemporary Fine Art by Japanese Artists
February 26 - March 19, 2010
Reception:
Thursday March 4, 2010 6-8 PM
Press Release
Japanese painter and graphic designer Reiko Sakai delves into Impressionist legends and brashly colorful symbolism. Her work bears certain musical, expressive qualities that may be owing to the subtle influence of her mother, a piano teacher. This gives many of her acrylic compositions a moving, swelling resonance. She deploys colors with a gentle, Impressionist application style that makes even the boldest tones rounded and soft. Her subjects, whether landscapes or mythological animals, evoke epic allegorical themes that are bolstered by an audacious aesthetic and a stunning color palette.
Cool blues and greens bubble around fiery reds, oranges and purples, the whole lit by spectacular sun and starlight effects that Sakai conveys with uncanny brilliance. Her work never spills over into empty spectacle, though. Each canvas flirts with a certain degree of abstraction, where sinuous strands of color and expressive brushstrokes take on an iconic power beyond the works’ figurative subjects. Floating between mythic and literal subjects, Sakai’s mesmerizing colors and style are the stuff of legend.
Artist Statement
I began to draw when I was very young, usually abstract pictures. When I was older I became a graphic designer and free-lance illustrator, but I soon came to understand that that was not enough for me. I knew that I would not find fulfilment by doing anything other than actually painting, and set out on a journey of self-discovery to find what I was looking for. The result is that I have learned that I want to aim at something in my art, to speak to the viewer and convey to them my feelings. My experience in design and illustration has helped me with this, but the most important factor is my determination and my love of art.
Invitation to the exhibition
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Artists in this exhibition
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