 |
 |
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
||
Born: 1948 Hiroshima, Japan
Lives and works in Yokohama, Japan
The works of Emiko Maeda can be described as being extraordinarily literary or poetic. That does not mean, however, that the works themselves are literary or poetic.
The description literary or poetic, if applied to Maeda's paintings pertains to the wellspring of her art. It concerns the stance of the artist as she aspires to create a work of art. What this means in essence is that it is necessary to consider an actual artwork separately from the process or motivation that led to its creation. The two must not be confused.
The titles of Maeda's paintings are definitely poetic- "Burning Sky", "Terra Amata", "Burning Water". These titles faintly intimate the vestiges of a certain elusive world. They suggest one portion of an infinitely expansive world traversing her mind, and, at the same time, also serve as figurative gateways to that world. The expressions tread a boundary region between sense and nonsense, almost seeming to be absurdities in many cases. One sees semantic leaps here and there that are difficult to grasp in terms of ordinary meaning, and the titles are also filled with contradictions at times.
Because the artist is willing to risk using such expression, we able to draw somewhat closer to the world of fantasy passing through her mind. The titles are poetic, but that is not the explicit purpose for which the artist exerts her skill. At the point where her realm of fantasy is at last on the verge of finding an anchor, she arrives at poetic expressions that impart a traumatic feeling. I believe one can say that the expressions in her titles go back and forth repeatedly and endlessly between a world of fantasy and one in which, by comparison, the words are always lacking, regardless of where they might come to rest.
Excerpted from critique by Arata Tani
Exhibition catalog 1995 Gallery Saoh & Tomos
Education
Graduated from Hiroshima Joshi College
Musashino Art College
Member of Japan Artists Association
Selected Exhibitions
2000 Solo exhibition Bokushin Gallery Tokyo, Japan
2000 Solo exhibition Museum West Fine Art San Francisco, CA
2001 Solo exhibition Gotou Gallery Tokyo, Japan
2001 Solo exhibition Bihouku-kyuryo Park Hiroshima, Japan
1999 Solo exhibition Museum West Fine Art, San Francisco
1993 Solo exhibition UBK Art Salon Ube, Japan
1993 Solo exhibition Tokeidai Gallery Sapporo, Japan
1992 Solo exhibition Message Gallery Osaka, Japan
1992 Group exhibit Galeria Azjatycka Warsaw, Poland
1991 Solo exhibition Shoubara-Denen Culture Ctr Hiroshima, Japan
1990 Solo exhibition Ginza Gallery Munich, Germany
1990 Group exhibit Grand Palais Museum Paris, France
1990 Solo exhibition Ublacker-Hausl Munich, Germany
1989 Group exhibit Tokyo Metropolitan Museum Tokyo, Japan
1987 Solo exhibition Mido Gallery Tokyo
1985 Solo exhibition Mido Gallery Tokyo, Japan
1984 Solo exhibition Friedrich Gallery Munich, Germany
1983 Solo exhibition Margaret Fisher Gallery London, England
1980 Solo exhibition Mido Gallery Tokyo, Japan
1977 Solo exhibition French Culture Center Nairobi, Kenya
1973 Solo exhibition Peacock Gallery Tokyo, Japan
