New Masako Kamiya Exhibition at Gallery NAGA

Instructor and alumna Masako Kamiya has a new exhibition, Kaliedoscope, opening at Gallery NAGA this weekend! The exhibition features more than a dozen pieces in Kamiya’s signature style, as described below by Gallery NAGA:

While her technique has subtly shifted over the past two decades, Masako Kamiya continues to use singularly unique mark-marking in creating her paintings.  Using acrylic gouache, she puts down a dot of paint, lets it dry, then adds another.  She repeats the process until stalactites of differing heights emerge.  Each layer on the surface, or dot, is of a different color, so the work, observed from an angle, becomes a forest of multi-colored columns.

Kamiya explains further, “In the spring of 2020, the pandemic arrived. Physically isolated, we were shifted to virtual communication with the world. As we began to channel our way through the digital screen in isolation every day, the gridded layout felt most authentic. In my painting, I looked for reliable underpinning structures and craved feelings of reciprocity in the physical and laborious paint application.  On the rigid linear mesh, I am mapping my marks which are reminders of my hand movement and their touch on the surface.”

Seen from straight on, a star or diamond shape emerges from the composition on many of Kamiya’s works on paper.  This star-like form, not symbolic in any way, allows her to organize her marks.  Kamiya’s work is process oriented; the grid and shape allow her to create structure and symmetry.

Visual details like these facets enhance the sculptural quality of Kamiya’s work, which encourages the viewer to interact with the work from every angle.  Kamiya comments on the sculptural aspect of her work: “My intention is to challenge the way a painting is conventionally perceived.  The sculptural surface moves viewers across the field of the painting.  This forces the viewer’s eyes to mix and optically process the various properties of color.  Ultimately, the viewers experience the subtle metamorphosis of the colors in the painting as the painting shifts from two dimensions to three dimensions and back again, according to the viewer’s angle to and distance from the work.”

She continues, “My recent paintings are more playful and joyful as they unfurl the prismatic spectacle and reflect the pursuit of wonder, curiosity, and marvel within the pictorial confines.  Painting is increasingly a redemptive process, as I gather paint marks to recover a new perceptual balance, as I compensate for the loss of my physical balance.  I am in the process of discovering the endless play of forms and colors and the feeling of exuberance.”

The joint reception for both Kamiya’s Kaleidoscope and fellow exhibiting artist Rick Fox’s Feral Footing will be held on Friday, June 9^th from 5 – 7 at Gallery NAGA.

A walk-through of the exhibitions with the artists will follow on Saturday, June 10^th at 2 PM.