Exhibition Archive
Yumiko Irei-Gokce:
works on paper, then and now
July 10 - August 21, 2009
About the Show
Chicago area artist Yumiko Irei-Gokce will feature works-on-paper and prints. She fuses a Japanese sense of space, color, material and methods with a Western manner of art making principles. Her works involve Japanese metaphysical dualities through images of plant inspired organic growth.Reception: Friday, July 10, 7-9 pm
Music by Daphne Freund
About the Artist and her work
Yumiko Irei-Gokce’s artwork stands as an aesthetic bridge between two disparate cultures. Irei-Gokce, a native of Japan, has resided in the Chicago area for many years. Her prints and mixed media works on paper balance her Japanese sensibilities with a Western approach. She has said, “I fuse a Japanese perception of art; a sense of texture, space, color, materials, and methods into the ways of American expressionistic art-making…” There is indeed an overall Abstract Expressionistic quality to Irei-Gokce’s compositions that roots her to that American art movement. However, she also includes representational images, particularly sprouting plants. This infuses her works with a Zen-like quality; contemplating the microcosm to enter the field of the macrocosm. The Buddha was said to have silently held up a flower to his disciples. Only one disciple understood the Buddha’s intent; that spirituality does not rest on words or scriptures, but is a direct experience of the underlying unity of all things. Yumiko Irei-Gokce’s works need to be more than just viewed, they require quiet contemplation. Then, as with the Buddha’s flower, an image may be a key to gaining deeper insights. The Robert T. Wright Gallery is pleased to present her work in a setting conducive to personal reflection.Pieces on Display
[ click on a thumbnail below to see larger image ]
Yumiko Irei-Gokce in front of her collagraph
On View
February 26 -- April 11, 2010
Beyond Pixeltorialism:
Digital Imaging in the 21st Century
Reception: Friday, February 26, 7-9 pm
