Japanese Artists, Japanese Influences

August 2005 For immediate release

Japanese Artists, Japanese Influences

Artist Talk - Japanese sculptural artist, Hironobe Tanabe - Saturday 10 September at 11am.

Artist in Gallery - Woodprint artist, Manu Berry fresh back from first visit to Japan - Sunday 11 September from 10am - 2pm.

Exhibition and artists' talk entry is free.

Exhibition is open Tuesday 6 September - Thursday 15 September inclusive.

Open 10 - 4 weekdays and 10 - 2 Saturday and Sunday.

Japanese Artists, Japanese Influences provides Dunedin with a lead into the celebrations for the 25th Anniversary of the Dunedin Otaru Sister City relationship. The Cleveland Living Arts Centre has brought together six Dunedin artists of both Japanese and New Zealand heritage and the cross influence of the cultures will be interesting to observe. Two of the six arrive back in Dunedin just days before the hanging with work they have freshly produced.

A Japanese aesthetic was notable in Manu Berry's exhibition Dear Forest at the Centre in 2004 but now Manu is fresh back from his first time visit to Japan and will be exhibiting woodcuts completed on a bench in his hotel room!.

Aki Kurihara, also freshly returned from a visit to her home town has created felted textiles, drawing on her experience with natural fibres and dyes in both Japan and New Zealand. She says New Zealand has evoked in her a sense of freedom to try new things and she has appreciated the knowledge she has gained from local textile groups.

Lynn Taylor has conversely been inspired by contemporary Japanese textile artists and traditional dyed textile techniques to create works that conceptualise memory in a perhaps uniquely Japanese way. Lynn feels privileged to be departing in September for her second visit to Otaru.

While Hironobu Tanabe has produced eight works based on an old Japanese fable they also relate to his recent enthusiastic response to Westland, backpackers and rimu.

Kyla Cresswell who always responds strongly to trees, found the topiary pines of the Japanese Imperial Gardens gave her a great sense of belonging when she lived in Tokyo a few years ago, and this shows through in her prints for the exhibition.

Motoko Kikkawa's works are delicate in comparison - complex patterns of cut paper utilising the play of light through them.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Asia New Zealand Foundation, Creative Communities and Tokyo Gardens, with support from Dunedin Otaru Sister City Society.

ENDS

Ceramicist Danny Holland who was advertised to be part of the exhibition has had to withdraw due to production problems.

Cleveland Living Arts Centre
First Floor, Dunedin Railway Station

*********** Cleveland Art Awards 2005 - entry forms now available************

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