KA-CHO-FU-GETSU

KAZUKO SHIIHASHI

May 1- 9, 2015
Opening Reception: Friday, May 1st, 6-8 PM

Japanese painting that uses expensive minerals and metallic pigments. Traditional painters chose bold images in nature and frequently referenced Japanese court literature and poetry. Shiihashi is one of the leading Nihonga artists in Japan and a common theme in her paintings is flowers. "I paint, not flowers that have been cut rather lively flowers growing out of the ground. Under those flowers is always there the earth of rich soil, beyond which abundant nature expands." She said. In fact, she expresses her emotions through her flowers. From the flower petals fluttering in the wind, you can glimpse the longing of the human soul. The branches of pine swaying in the wind against the night sky, express the strength and courage of man. The piercing gaze of the rooster catches your gaze and takes your breath away. In her newest collection, Shiihashi continues her exploration of the poetic approach while paying homage to the famous Jakuchu Ito. "This contemporary artist works become rooted in Traditional Japanese Paintings, Nihonga, by techniques and materials using patterns, with this special accent on representation of nature, namely moon, trees and flowers. Kazuko Shiihashi's landscapes bring us to revisit history, between poetry and meditation-about the nature of Japan, in painting, decorative arts, literature and poetry. Man and nature have close ties, underlined by religion, mainly founded in Buddhism and Shintoism." By Chizuru Maeda, curator attaché, Fine Art Museum Nancy. Kazuko Shiihashi was born in Tokyo, Japan and is currently working on her new pieces there. First she designed the graphics for the textiles of traditional Japanese Kimonos, in Kyoto. After she began to learn traditional Japanese Painting at the Nippon Design School and the Musashino Art University. She has had solo exhibitions at the Cast Iron Gallery in New York, the Botanical Garden Gallery in New York, the Light Box Gallery in New York, the JM Gallery in New York, the Espace Culturel Bertin Poire in Paris, the Galerie Cathay in Paris, and the Galerie Matthieu Dubuc in Paris. She has also had group exhibitions at various Art Shows such as the Affordable Art Fair in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.