From August 26 - September 23,
The Folk Tree Collection presents ECHOES OF THE EAST, a small group
exhibition including collages by Kathi Oshima, baskets by Lynne
Everett, fiberworks by Sumi Foley, and ceramics by Yuichiro Roy
Kunisaki Mafune. All four artists are southern California residents influenced and inspired by the arts and culture of Asia. A reception is scheduled on Saturday, August 26, from 2 - 6 P.M. Also on that day, from 3 - 5 P.M., Pacific Asia Museum (Pasadena) curator Meher McArthur signs her book "The Arts of Asia: Materials, Techniques, Styles." Kathi Oshima creates atmospheric collages incorporating treasures she has collected over the years, many of which originated in Asia - Japanese papers, fabrics, calligraphy samples, and remnants of popular culture, like advertisements and labels. "There are many layers in the collages and the process of doing them is a metaphor for living," comments Oshima. She says of her work, "I'm just trying to express beauty. I have this spiritual pull and need to express myself and go deeper than just day-to-day living." Oshima has an M.F.A. degree from Otis Art Institute, and has exhibited her collages throughout southern California. Lynne Everett is a teacher and contemporary basketweaver. She has extensively studied ancient basket making techniques and feels a strong connection to the past. Teaching is a way for her to share her knowledge of and passion for the genre. To create her baskets, the artist uses the delicate strands of Mizuhiki mylar cord from Japan. Most of her pieces are intimate in scale. Everett comments on her work, "Nature provides the materials, we provide the inspiration." Sumi Foley learned to sew as a child from her grandmother in Japan. She later became interested in needlework, and after retrieving a bag of old kimonos from her grandmother's trash one day, she began to focus on transforming abandoned fabrics into elegant pieces of art. Her work is all hand done with very fine lines and designs, which cannot be achieved with a sewing machine. Foley has had several one person exhibitions, and has been included in many group shows and numerous publications. Yuichiro Roy Kunisaki Mafune is a ceramic artist at the Angel's Gate complex in San Pedro. His works begin as vessel forms created on the wheel. He then draws or carves scenes inspired by nature, cycles of aquatic ecosystems, Japanese ethnicity and California lifestyle. Yuichiro's recent work includes a series he refers to as surrealistic in that the images he adds to the clay, many of them animals, are depicted in dreamlike, slightly peculiar states. His work has been shown in Los Angeles galleries and contemporary crafts shows. He was born in Fukuoka, Japan and settled in California in 1985. The Folk Tree Collection is located at 199 S. Fair Oaks Ave., minutes walking distance from the Gold Line's Del Mar Station (and just fifteen minutes from downtown Los Angeles off the end of the 110 freeway) near the heart of Old Pasadena. Gallery hours are: M-W, 11-6; Th-Sat, 10-6; Sun, 12-5. For further information, contact Gail Mishkin at (626)793-4828. |
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