CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing) is honored to announce an exhibition of recent works by Shanghai-based Japanese artist Yoko Kiuchi from November 10 – 30, 2013. The exhibition consists of six painted portraits (“What Color Is Your Self?”) in primarily water-based paints such as gouche with colorful floral backgrounds as well as an installation of a dress (“Rebirth”) decorated with various natural matererials such as feathers, leaves, paper, cotton and lace.

An Opening Reception with the artist will be held Sunday, November 10, 2013 from 4:30 – 6:30 pm.

Each portrait expresses the colors of each person’s world. The background color reflects that person’s life until now. The butterfly and flower represent their will and thought. Particularly, rose is a kind of flower that stands for a person’s intent. Butterfly symbolizes their thought from their individual life experiences.

By using a set of designed paper napkins and Japanese Origami including Chiyogami and Japanese rice paper (Washi), Kiuchi created each person’s distinctive look, their unique inner beauty. The images of the flowers are created by cutting the shapes from different designer paper napkins. However, the colors that she picked for the paintings were her own inspirations.

The dress installation reflects that the artist is a part of nature’s circle, a cycle of rebirth, as one among other various colors. The color of the dress itself represents natural light. The deocrations represent so many of the colors that people express and experience throughout their lives.

About Yoko Kiuchi

Yoko Kiuchi studied Graphic Design at Pratt Institute of Technology in NY and worked as a graphic designer for a few years before realizing that graphic design was not what she wanted to do with her life. She became more interested in fine arts and therefore decided to enter the distant learning program in fine art at Musashino Art University, in Tokyo.

Yoko Kiuchi’s Artist Statement:

I have lived in Tokyo, NY and currently live in Shanghai. Though I have experienced differences in race, religion and culture in the countries I have lived, I realize that art is universal and can be shared by people all over the world. My intuition is guiding my work and my art is expressed in colors combined with natural materials.

My art work was inspired by the actual people I used as my models in my paintings. I believe that the life style of others can inspire us, and by borrowing elements from that life style while making some personal adjustments to them, we can then create a new life style that is unique and best for ourselves. By showing the colors of each person’s life, I allow the viewers to get a sense of their life. I used to be intimidated by their strong artistic will. However, by using them as my subjects in my paintings, I was able to discover my own hidden desires and interests in my life.

Each of my models has wonderful love in his or her heart. They love looking at the bright side of their lives and enjoy life itself a lot. Their life style attracts me very much because I feel something in common through the various stages of my life as a housewife who took care of her father who had severe dementia, as a professional photographer raising a baby, and as an artist who performed at refugee camps in the Congo and many other places in  Europe, Asia, and South America….

There is a variety of beautiful colors all around us.

Everyone in this world is working in your favor.

People inhale and then exhale again.

Everyone has likes and dislikes.

All people radiate a splendid color of themselves.

Please enjoy your life with many colors coming from all different experiences.

Many thanks to my husband, Kai for all his time and help. I would also like to thank Yasuko, Christopher, Aya and all CRS members for offering me the opportunity to have a solo show in CRS, NY. Thank you very much for seeing my show.

With Love,

Yoko Kiuchi