Onishi Gallery is proud to present a group show featuring Anjin Abe, Tomoyo Hiraiwa, Nagai Megumi, Mamoru Nakagawa, Toshio Ohi, Emi Uchida and Yusuke Yamamoto. The artists previously exhibited at the Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) Exposition 2008, held at the Park Avenue Armory in New York in May.
Anjin Abe, creator of Bizen Ware ceramics, is widely esteemed for his distinctive and vividly colored saishiki Bizen Ware and for his bronze work. Born in Osaka in 1938, Abe began his career as a painter, and brings a painterly touch to his pottery and his cast-bronze wall hangings.
Tomoyo Hiraiwa has exhibited jewelry and fine art extensively in North America, Europe, Japan, and throughout Asia. She has earned a following in New York with her bold, innovative designs and exquisite craftsmanship. Hiraiwa studied at Tokyo National University Fine Arts and Music.
Nagai Megumi works in oil paint on multiple types of wood, following a tradition in Eastern art from before the Heian period in Japan. Also drawing from Western artistic techniques, she creates a fantastical universe underscored by clean lines and a meticulous sense of realism.
Mamoru Nakagawa is renowned for revitalizing the traditional art of metal inlay with new departures in color and design. In 2004, the Japanese government designated him a “living national treasure.” Nakagawa, born in Kanazawa in 1947, teaches at Kanazawa College of Art.
Toshio Ohi inherits an artistic tradition dating from 1666. The Ohi master deploys the lustrous effects of Ohi Ware in bowls, other items for the tea ceremony, and a vast range of works. Born in Kanazawa in 1958, he earned an MA in fine arts from Boston University and has taught at universities in the United States, Taiwan, and Japan.
Emi Uchida was born in Yamanashi, Japan in 1970. She studied at Joshibi Junior College of Art and Design and received her degree in Fine Art in 1991. Uchida creates intimate visual spaces within the traditional confines of the rectangle, creating environments both naturalistic and dreamlike. Her beautiful painted surfaces exhibit a distillation of technique usually reserved for more realistic forms of expression.
Yusuke Yamamoto, a metal craft artist, uses the motif of dogs for his main form, creating a story-like world through the placement of unique objects. Born in 1979 and a graduate of Musashino Art University, he lives in Tokyo. He has had numerous solo and group shows.