Dates: Friday, November 30, 2018 – Saturday, January 26, 2019
Reception: Friday, November 30, 2018 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Hours: 9am-6pm M-F, 10am-4pm Sat, Closed Sunday and all National Holidays
Dates: Thursday, November 15, 2018 – Monday, November 19, 2018
Reception: Monday, November 19, 2018 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Hours: 9am-6pm M-F, 10am-4pm Sat, Closed Sunday and all National Holidays
Clark County’s Zap 10 public art education outreach component will come to a close with an exclusive Pop-Up Gallery Exhibition, in partnership with the College of Southern Nevada Galleries, from November 15 – 19, 2018. This special exhibit will feature artwork created by students at the Walnut Afterschool Program, under the guidance of Zap 10 art instructors Brent Holmes and Sonia Limon.
This special pop-up show will also feature the background of Clark County’s Zap! Public Art Series, with information and on-line images to support and celebrate how Zap! was started, in 2005, and an online summary of the first ten Zap! projects, as well as images of the new education outreach workshops, which began with Zap 10.
The mission of the CSN Art Galleries is educational, and gallery patrons who attend the free Closing Night Reception will be able to see some of the online videos created for Zap 10 as well as the history of Zap!, projected in the gallery as part of the evening’s festivities. Light refreshments will be served and the students who want to take their project creations home, can do so at the end of the reception (after 7pm).
Links
Clark County Public Art
ZAP
Clark County Public Arts: Instagram
Clark County Public Arts: Facebook
Dates: Friday, September 28, 2018 – Saturday, November 10, 2018
Hours: 8am-10:30pm M-F, 8am-5pm Sat, Closed Sunday and all National Holidays
![Bobbie Ann Howell_Aleppo Mothers Weeping_22_x30__Cut paper_Acrylic Paint 300pdi[4].jpg](https://csnartgalleries.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/bobbie-ann-howell_aleppo-mothers-weeping_22_x30__cut-paper_acrylic-paint-300pdi41.jpg?w=684&h=497)
Artist Statement
Many ideas and elements weave in and out of my work, some concepts repeatedly find their way into the compositions. The cut paper drawings employ a combination of methods and materials, the graphite and silverpoint drawings are cut away with a knife, revealing the negative spaces to create the shapes, revealing shadow forms and reflected color. Opening up the forms creates a sense of vulnerability, exploiting the strength and fragile nature of the paper. In some instances to make the work feel as if it were disappearing or shattering. Ideas and forms are often derived from the vast array of elements found within the Nevada environment paired with the concepts involved in the struggle of our humanity within the world and events that surround us.
The array of vistas before us is continually inspiring as is the use of literal and figurative points of view. The view of vastness, and places of intersections between our landscape and our lives, the edges of the desert and the seeping lines of progress, the forms created by wind and water. Patterns that evolve in contrast to organic shapes that lead me into to my slight obsession of the endless possibilities of cutting snowflake and mandala patterns. These patterns become symbols within my compositions in response to the range of events, people, and places that impact our perceptions. Exploring contrasting textures, colors, and ideas to create works that may alter a viewpoint, and possibly to make us look twice, to see, feel, or understand something more deeply.
![Bobbie Ann Howell_Silenced Snowstorm_Cut Paper_Acrylic Paint_Graphite_2018 300dpi[4][1].jpg](https://csnartgalleries.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/bobbie-ann-howell_silenced-snowstorm_cut-paper_acrylic-paint_graphite_2018-300dpi41.jpg?w=676)
Looking at the contrast between beauty and what may be an unsettling subject. The world where women and children are caught in conflict, the shattering of families and communities, the silenced voices of women, and my hope is that those works become a small token of memory to honor the lives that in an instant were taken from us, all the nameless array we hear about in endless news reports from acts we can not make sense of.
Biography
Bobbie Ann Howell grew up in beautiful Lee Canyon, Nevada, a mountain community northwest of the Las Vegas valley. Born in a state that has dramatic contrasts from the desert valleys to high mountain vistas, from crowed urban centers to the open windswept spaces, each having long been a part of her life and in turn her art. Howell attended school in Indian Springs, and graduated from Western High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her Bachelor of Fine Arts is from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Drawing from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Ill. and she has been fine arts faculty at Steven F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, University of Nevada Las Vegas, and College of Southern Nevada, teaching sculpture, foundry, drawing, two and three dimensional design, and painting.
She continues to teach workshops, and classes for a wide range of students from her studio, B.E.S.T. Arts 4 U, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her works are in public and private collections, across the United States, and she presents in solo and group exhibitions throughout the country. Howell was part of the 2017 ArtPop Street Gallery in Las Vegas where one of her artworks was displayed on a billboard along Interstate 15 in Las Vegas, and she was awarded the 2018 Nevada Arts Council Visual Art Fellowship.
Links
Nevada Humanities: Link
Instagram: “Silenced Snowstorm” CSN Art Galleries
Dates: Friday, September 21, 2018 – Saturday, November 3, 2018
Hours: 9am-6pm M-F, 10am-4pm Sat, Closed Sunday and all National Holidays
Artist Statement
La Visa Negra is a collection of narratives dealing with time, identity, and place via the cultural crossover between South Texas and Northern Mexico. The base of the conceptual discourse of this work derives from researching and referencing the daily lives and sociopolitical concerns of illegal immigrants living and working in the United States. The entire exhibition is sustainable recycled art created from re purposed clothing gathered from, thrift shops, flea markets (pulgas), and the ropas which are a sort of commercial thrift shop where clothing is sold by the pound. This visual observation has transformed the used clothing or ropas into a media of expression representing the humanized signifier of likely situations as might be experienced by the thousands of nameless and faceless workers. The term Visa Negra is the satirical code known among the people crossing the border illegally through the Rio Grande River and it is the black visa meaning the black inner tube the only required “paperwork” needed to cross the river.
La Visa Negra collection is composed of two areas. The first portion is a series of textile tapestries and the second is a collection of framed quilts referred to as Las Labores. This exhibition contains material gathered at the border wall that immigrants use to cross over such as wooden ladders. There is also an additional artwork titled “A Word on DACA” can be a stand alone piece, due to the direct political comment regarding the disappearance of an opportunity to the children (known as the Dreamers) brought to the United States by their migrating parents. This piece is inspired on North American quilting symbol of “safe house” designed to help runaway slaves escape in the south. “A Word on DACA” is largely created from graduation gowns and honor cords to demonstrate the type of exceptional students that are typically Dreamers. These students are a positive contribution to society, but have been let down by negative political influences that have no humanity, it is all just business: money, money, money — as shown on the edges of the artwork.
The Tapestries. There is a total of three 5ft. x 45in. tapestries. Each tapestry is created on a bed sheet symbolizing a personal view. The bed sheets are also a metaphor of airing laundry code for talking publicly about issues that many want to keep quiet or ignore completely. The tapestries were part of a larger exhibit collaboration titled “Nothing to Declare” which has been exhibited in South Texas and the Philippines. This exhibition was a collaboration with Phyllis Leverich who contributed with photographs from the South Texas Border Region, which are Xerox transfers. All the tapestries are mixed textile appliqué media.
“You Reap What You Sow / Cosecha lo que Siembras” and “Divided Roads Urban/Rural Tapestry” deal with issues of melancholy.
“El Sueño de la Migración / The Migration Dream Tapestry” talk about all kinds of migrations besides humans, such as animals and insects; many of which are becoming endangered by the very wall that obstructs their migration paths. This piece also has seven lucky wooden ladders —one for each day of the week, collected from the border wall, left behind by immigrants crossing illegally. It also has veladoras or candles remembering those who have lost their lives during their effort to reach the new land.
Las Labores is a Spanish term used to mean jobs or duties. This section is composed of a total of twelve 24in. x 24in. x 3in pieces. The number twelve symbolizes the concept that some citizens have of illegal immigrants arriving to the United States seeking refuge. They see faceless illegal immigrant that are worth a dime a dozen. The inner tube represented by the rubber circle in each composition, represent a type of magical portal that many illegal immigrant goes through when they swim across the Rio Grande River on an inner tube escaping the violent reality in their country of origin. This experience offers a new opportunity, a new life, a different level in their lives, hence the reason to include portions of graduation gowns in most of these pieces. The soft textured triangular shapes are inspired by North American quilting symbols designed to help runaway slaves escape in the south. The symbol of these triangular shapes make up a star which stands for, not only a guiding tool, but also as a symbol of dreams and hopes of the North. Search for your golden star. Reach your dream of freedom and equality. Vete al Norte! Go North! Get a new life in the Land of Freedom and Opportunity.
The twelve pieces in the Las Labores Collection present a variety of household employments jobs such as: gardener, maid, cook, nanny, lawn maintenance (yardero), and house cleaning services. Then it also has other commercial employments such as: street vendors, restaurant dishwashers, fruit and veggie pickers, construction workers, and more detailed construction jobs such as roofing and drywall hangers which Hispanic immigrants are famous for their speed and quality. All of these jobs have a high level of labor intensity, typically filled by people who do not have any legal documentation or sometimes have very little formal education. This exhibition is not making a statement about the type of jobs, but about these amazing people worthy of admiration and respect. They are willing to take these difficult labor intensive jobs — in many cases one person has multiple jobs, in order to support their family and provide their loved ones with an honest life. Every day children in schools all over the United States recite the Pledge of Allegiance: “…with liberty and justice for all.” Let these words be true and let everyone have freedom and liberty.
Biography
Leila Hernandez, MFA, University of Florida, studied Diseño Artesanal (Handcraft design) at the Universidad Dr. Jose Matias Delgado in the Escuela de Artes Aplicadas Carlos Alberto Imery in her country of origin El Salvador located in Central America, where she learned about ceramics, textiles and metals. Her undergrad thesis was a rescue project to recover and protect the dying knowledge of the backstrap loom practiced at that time only in the small Salvadorean village of Panchimalco. She is an artist, designer, a fervent admirer of popular culture and ancient folklore.
Ms. Hernandez has lived in Europe and visited many museums and cultural centers that have influenced her artistic background such as The Vatican Museum, the Uffizi, Museo Nacional Del Prado, The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and the Hermitage. She lived in Florence and Paris studying printmaking, drawing, painting and art history. Her thirst of culture and knowledge is unquenched and she looks forward to traveling to lands with rich historic backgrounds in color, texture, and pattern. She is a lover of the Arts and Crafts Movement and an admirer of William Morris and his world influence in Design and Craft.
Even though Ms. Hernandez now resides in the United States, she always finds a way to reconnect to her beloved handcrafts/Artesanias, culture and folklore not just from her country of origin but to other cultures that are immersed in color, texture and pattern.
Ms. Hernandez explores the mixtures of cultures, ideas and opinions in the border area between South Texas and Northern Mexico which she exhibited in Manila, Philippines at an international exhibition at the Jorge B. Vargas Museum titled Nothing to Declare. Ms. Hernandez latest work is titled “La Visa Negra” which is a continuation of Nothing to Declare. This latest exhibition is collection of narratives dealing with border issues and the effects of immigration in refugees living and working in the United States. The media applied in the work is composed mainly of used clothing or ropa usada. This collection is a salute to the contemporary hard working immigrants that are forging their happily ever after in the United States.
A global artist, Ms. Hernandez has lived and traveled abroad in countries such as: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, England, Russia, Mexico, Colombia as well as Central America: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras. Ms. Hernandez enjoys and is receptive to the color, texture and compositions in local handcrafts of the countries that she has had the fortune of visiting and those that she has visited through their artwork.
Links
Desert Companion: 2018 Fall Culture Guide: Visual Arts
Instagram: “La Visa Negra” CSN Art Galleries
Dates: Friday, July 20, 2018 – Saturday, September 15, 2018
Artist Talk: Thursday, September 13, 6 p.m.
Artist Statement
Coral die-off is caused by a process known as bleaching. Dying coral look bland and lifeless, in contrast to the vivid rainbow hues of thriving coral. Using collage techniques, various papers and watermedia I visualize the beauty found under the water. I fuse abstraction and representation, vibrant colors and monotonous hues, living creatures and dying cells. My intention is show the great beauty and complexity of the coral, but allude to catastrophic climate change and pollution of the ocean.
People have referred to coral bleaching as “the most beautiful death”. The viewer must question is this is alive or deceased?
Biography
Elena Wherry (Pisnaya) was born in Russia in 1967. Art and creativity have been a part of her life as long as she can remember, having grown up with a father and grandfather who were both great musicians and artists. After moving to the United States in 2000, she began to study art in college and work professionally as an artist. She took Art History and almost all of studio art classes at the College of Southern Nevada and UNLV. After rediscovering watercolor and loving to work on paper surface, she began to take workshops with the best national and international watermedia artists.
Elena is constantly learning and searching for ways to keep her work exciting. She has accumulated numerous awards at the local and national juried exhibitions. In 2016 Elena was an artist in residence at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. Her works were exhibited at the Barrick Museum, and her paintings are in the permanent collection of UNLV Student Union.
Links
Elena Wherry Artist Homepage: http://elenawherry.com/
Elean Wherry Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenawherry/
Review Journal “Las Vegas Art Galleries”: https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/arts-culture/las-vegas-art-galleries-6/
Dates: Friday, July 13, 2018 – Saturday, September 8, 2018
Artist Talk: Thursday, September 6, 4 p.m.
Artist Statement
These works form a series that investigates topsy-turvy, skewed, and disorienting views of the world as a metaphor for our enduring sense of displacement. Based on my encounters with the landscape as a mysterious and unpredictable place, the puddles depicted in the paintings, and their attendant reflected images, shrink and disappear, hinting at our transient and fragile hold on the earth. Literally, they reflect upon the environment by offering transparent water to gaze into and metaphorically, these pools of water are a mirrored surface that flattens and disconcerts us by casting back an image. The work acknowledges that reflections in water are a significant part of the history of painting yet rather than depict these as places that evoke elevated or sublime emotional states, I focus attention on the puddle’s intimacy and melancholia. At the heart of this work there is an uncanny ‘doubling’ embedded in the use of reflections that I purposefully employ to exaggerate our sense of dislocation and displacement as we move throughout the world.
Driving and walking around uncovers these arresting images by simply observing my surroundings. Through repeated viewing, I become particularly interested in the shape of and reflected images created by the puddles. Images are initially recorded as photographs that are then developed over time using Photoshop and drawing. I also rely on memory to recall what I have seen. My process then entails an initial layer of acrylic paint, laid down as either a solid or very washy color which is then built upon by accumulated layers of oil paint. The underpainting seeps through, creating a sense of depth. ‘Ghosting’ occurs in the layering method I use, not only in the underpainting peeking through from underneath, but also, in how the materiality of the paint retains its ‘body’ and starts to produce seams, scars, and other dimensional marks. My physical treatment of the paint helps me wring out psychological content and further connects the viewer to the subject matter through the palpable presence of the human hand in constructing the images. Different scale choices allow me to experiment with space and not be constrained by habit or familiarity. For example, the physical size of the smaller works echoes small niches within the landscape they represent, while the larger canvases offer a more expansive and immersive experience for the viewer.
Biography
Shona Macdonald received her MFA in 1996 in studio arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her BFA in 1992 from Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. She has had selected solo shows at the Tarble Arts Center, Charleston, IL, (2015), Gridspace, Brooklyn, NY, (2014), Ebersmoore, Chicago, (2012), the Roswell Art Museum, Roswell, NM, (2011), Engine Room, Wellington, New Zealand, (2010), Proof Gallery, Boston, MA (2009), Reeves Contemporary, NY, NY (2008), Den Contemporary, LA, CA, (2007), Skestos-Gabriele, Chicago IL, (2005), Galerie Refugium, Berlin, Germany, (2002), and Fassbender Gallery, Chicago (1998 and 2000). Her work has been included in numerous group shows across the United States, UK, Australia, and Canada. Reviews of her work are included in Art in America, Art News, the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Sacramento Bee, Boston Globe, Artscope, and New American Paintings. She has been a Visiting Artist at over forty institutions, including Wimbledon College of Art, London, (1998), Georgia State University, Atlanta, (2007), Cornell University (2006), the University of Alberta, and the University of Calgary, Canada, (2002). Shona Macdonald was the recipient of a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, NY, (2009), a Fellow at Roswell Artist-in-Residence in Roswell, New Mexico, (2010-11), Can Serrat, Barcelona, Spain, (2012), the Cromarty Arts Trust in Scotland and will be resident at Ballinglen in Ireland, summer of 2017. She is currently Professor of Studio Art and Graduate Program Director at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and formerly Associate Professor at Illinois State University, where she taught from 1998 until 2006.
Links
Shona Macdonald Artist Homepage: https://www.shonamacdonald.com/
University of Massachusetts Amherst Faculty Page: https://www.umass.edu/art/people/shona
Garvey Simon Gallery, New York, NY: http://www.garveysimon.com/artists/shona-macdonald?view=slider
Exhibition Information
Location: Fine Arts & Artspace Galleries on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: Friday, May 11 – Saturday, June 23, 2018
Juror’s Talk, Awards Presentation & Artist Reception: Friday, May 11, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Press Release
The College of Southern Nevada Fine Arts Gallery will present its annual Juried Student Exhibition beginning Friday, May 11, 2018 and will run through Saturday, June 23, 2018. A reception with refreshments, awards ceremony, gallery talk, and Salon de Refusés will take place on Friday, May 11, from 6 – 8 p.m. This exhibition will feature student artwork made in connection with CSN Fine Arts Department, Art and Art History courses with media including drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, jewelry and design.
FavyFav is a Las Vegas native and an artist working in the mediums of painting, sculpture, and performance. He is also a curator, food writer, and avid podcast listener. He has participated in exhibitions in Nevada and across the United States. Las Vegas venues include the Contemporary Arts Center and the Clark County Government Center. His work draws from art history, popular culture and his Guatemalan/Mexican heritage. Favy has curated many shows throughout southern Nevada, from UNLV’s Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art to El Porvenir Mini-Market in North Las Vegas.
Babelito is a Curator and earned his PhD in Ibero-America colonial art history from the University of New Mexico. He is a music lover, a Café Tacvba fan and a music festival junky. Since 2007 he has explored themes of violence, identity, race and class difference in colonial Latin American art. He has presented his work in the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in 2012 and the College of Art Association and American Studies Association in 2015. He has curated art exhibitions for Museo de Arte Religioso Ex-Convento de Santa Mónica in Puebla México, the Mexican Consulate in Las Vegas and for the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Currently, Babelito is finishing his Ph.D thesis work and is constantly contributing to the education programs of Arquetopia, Foundation for Development in Puebla and Oaxaca Mexico.
The CSN Art Galleries would like to thank its guest judges, FavyFav and Babelito and its outstanding community partner, Blick Art Materials for their generous support of this exhibition and our students.
And the Winners Are…
JUROR’S AWARD
Christine Debacker-Guziak
10 Color Silkscreen Print
Nevada’s Cold War Consequence
Professor Anne Hoff, Serigraphy
JUROR’S AWARD
Jozet Deras
Wood and Yarn Sculpture
Unfinished
Professor Christopher Bauder, Sculpture I
JUROR’S AWARD
Jose De’Andre Rivera lll
Watercolor
A Quite Morning in Edo
Professor Alfonso Lirani, Watercolor I
JUROR’S AWARD
Dan Hernandez
Oil Painting
Self Portrait: Outward Appearances
Professor Mark Brandvik, Painting I
JUROR’S AWARD
Katlin Quezada
Colored Pencil and Ink on Paper
Stripes and Lights
Professor James Ogletree, Drawing II
JUROR’S AWARD
Mason Rempfer
Charcoal on Paper
Saint Cardi
Professor Anne Hoff, Drawing II
JUROR’S AWARD
Yaffa Cary
Ceramic
Love Box
Professor Robin Starks, Ceramics I
JUROR’S AWARD
Maria Lozano Siciarz
Ink on Paper
Grid Pattern Portrait
Professor Kathleen Nathan’s 2D Design Fundamentals
JUROR’S AWARD
Barbara Gerhardt
Sterling Silver Jewelry
Ying & Yang Earrings
Professor Emerita Joanne Vuillemot, Jewelry I
JUROR’S AWARD
Nanci Clyde
Digital Painting
Fall
Professor Suzanne Acosta, Painting I
The CSN Fine Arts Gallery and all gallery events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are from 9 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The Fine Arts Gallery are located at the half circle drive near CSN’s main entrance, on the North Las Vegas campus at 3200 E. Cheyenne Avenue, one mile East of I-15 North.
For more information please call (702) 651-4146, email: artgallery@csn.edu or visit:https://www.csn.edu/artgallery
Dates: Friday, April 13, 2018 – Saturday, April 28, 2018
Press Release
The College of Southern Nevada Department of Fine Arts will host an exhibition of artwork created by students of the CSN Early Childhood Education Laboratory Program. This exhibition, a collection of artwork by children ages 6 months through 5 years, utilizes a variety of media and expresses the thoughts, emotions, and creative explorations of its young artists. “2018 Art of the Young Child” will begin Friday, April 13, and will run through Saturday, April 28, 2018.
“Art is a vital part of the Early Childhood curriculum,” says Janis Fikes-Buntjer, ECE Laboratory Program Director. “Children of all ages are given time and access each day to explore and manipulate a wide range of art materials. As children explore – they learn. They learn about physical properties of the media; they learn problem-solving skills; they learn social skills; they develop motor skills; and they learn creative ways to express themselves – most importantly they learn that ART IS FUN!”
CSN’s Early Childhood Education Lab Program is a nationally accredited preschool, kindergarten and childcare program for children ages 6 months through 5 years. As a model for “best practice” in Early Childhood Education, the ECE Lab Program provides CSN students, participating parents, and the local Early Childhood community, opportunities for observation and practice.
This exhibition is featured in conjunction with the CSN Early Childhood Education Program and in celebration of the National Association of the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) “Week of the Young Child,” April 16 – April 20, 2018. This exhibition is free and open to the public.
Artwork will be on display at the Artspace Gallery on the North Las Vegas Campus, 3200 E. Cheyenne Avenue, North Las Vegas and in the “I” Building, First Floor, Main Corridor, on the Charleston Campus, 6375 W. Charleston Boulevard, Las Vegas. This exhibition will be open during normal campus building hours.
Links
CSN Child Care / Early Childhood Education Lab: https://www.csn.edu/daycare
CSN Early Childhood Education Program: https://www.csn.edu/programs/early-childhood
National Association for the Education of Young Children: https://www.naeyc.org/
Dates: Friday, March 23, 2018 – Saturday, April 28, 2018
Artist Talk & Artist Reception: Wednesday, April 18, 6 p.m.
Artist Statement
“Engraving on Land” is about people’s living conditions, their creativity, and evidence that people’s daily lives have been conducted on their lands. The title has two metaphoric meanings. The first is the physical changes of the land after destruction from wars or colonization. These physical change can also occur from another culture’s influences, like forced construction and industrial projects. Often, past physical change may not be recognized in the present. We forget easily, because lands continue to host new people’s lives that create new landscapes. The second meaning is the emotional scarring and mental changes. I became interested in how people kept their identities, cultures, pride, and languages under difficult circumstance. When I learn about the histories of how people lived, I am often encouraged by their wit, humor, creative energy, and love, which kept their lives going. I hope that my work expresses the beauty of all human beings with their strengths and passions.
“WISDOM OF WATER” and “CITIES IN CHECKERS” are two separate cities in different cultures and locations, but they have twin like similarities. The canal system in Amsterdam influenced the system in Edo (Old Tokyo) of the 17th century, and the city structure in Kyoto in the 12th century had a very similar city plan to New York City today. I became fascinated by how human beings of different nationalities, cultures, and religions embraced similar living conditions: even if living conditions then in each country were limited in many different aspects, I often feel that the people lived their everyday lives creatively, simply, beautifully, and peacefully.
“70 YEARS OF SILENCE”, “COMPENSATION FOR THE COUNTRY”, and “COMPENSATION FOR THE COUNTRY – RED and WHITE” address the island of Okinawa in Japan, which has been a victim of political conflict with both Japan’s main islands and the U.S. Particularly even into the present, discrimination and neglect by Japan’s main islands have been focused toward Okinawa. I realized there are many similar stories around our world. People, who by chance are living on small islands or in countries with a small GDP, become less valued. Their voices are hardly heard.
“BLACK TEARS AND BLACK RAIN”, both terms were natural phenomena. One occurred after the USS Arizona was sunk in Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the other after a nuclear weapon was exploded over Hiroshima in 1945. In Hawaii, black oil tears arose from the sunken ship forming floating rings on the ocean. In Japan, black rain, contaminated with high levels of radioactive dust, caused a secondary disaster and increased the number of victims of the bomb. The year of 2016 became a historical year when President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and met some Hibakusha (survivors of the nuclear bomb). In the same year, Japan’s Prime Minister Abe visited Pearl Harbor. These events proved to the rest of the world that two past enemy nations could achieve and maintain a peaceful friendship after seventy-one years and are working together toward world peace.
Biography
Working on a grand scale, printmaker Yoshiko Shimano challenges to transform the paper so it no longer speaks as “paper”, but has a density of physical presence that is one with its imagery. By using many different printmaking marks, she wishes to unify existing mediums and layers into a seamless language. Her work invites its audience to enter a seemingly infinite and paradoxically intimate space. Hung in one space large- scale prints become installations or environmental works, which interact with the architecture and create own atmosphere. She likes the possibility of the work “breathing” in its specific environment. Many of her work are her prayers for things she doesn’t have control over, but feels responsibilities toward as one living in this world.
Japanese born Yoshiko Shimano’s work has been exhibited extensively in Canada, Europe, Japan and the United States. She received her B.F.A. degree from California College of the Arts and M.F.A. degree from Mills College in Oakland, California.
She embraces an artist’s responsibilities within society to expand beyond studio practices or gallery presentations. Shimano has offered many outreach projects, local and international, and made prints for various minority groups and victims of natural disaster with her students through the Department of Art at the University of New Mexico.
Links
Yoshiko Shimano Artist Homepage: https://www.yoshikoshimano.com/
University of New Mexico Faculty Page: http://art.unm.edu/yoshiko-shimano/
Location: Artspace Gallery on the CSN North Las Vegas Campus
Dates: Friday February 9, 2018 – Saturday, April 7, 2018
Preview, Artist Talk & Artist Reception: Thursday, March 8, 6 p.m.
Artist Statement
As a Chinese woman artist living in the Western world, I am aware of art, literature, philosophy, and mythology from both cultures. My understanding of Chinese philosophies has shaped my thinking and conduct. The prudent and contrary-minded Taoist beliefs, the attached-to- the-earth reality of Confucianism, and the sudden enlightenment and intuitive insights of Zen are the foundation of my life. On the other hand, Western culture has inspired me and opened new ways of thinking.
Developing a personal visual language that expresses universal ideas, I create artworks for the stories and aesthetics of each image, and for making visible those concepts which reflect my personal experiences. I want my viewers to look at my images through magical windows into a deep secondary space.
Inspired by nature and multiple cultures, my artwork explores our common humanity, diverse society, and my inner voyage. Creating artwork required me to realize my nature, re-study my culture, and adapt new thinking, which resulted in a new perspective on life. It has also challenged me to constantly solve visual problems, learn new techniques, and explore the splendid human heritage. My images form a visual communication that interacts in several collective dialogues. These dialogues are between eternity and transience, oneness and variety, existence and emptiness.
Beyond various techniques and conceptions, the process of creating and making art has enchanted me. At the core of my art-making is an attempt to attain moments of transcendence, to reach the artless-art, emptiness, and egolessness. My artistic creation is a process of deciphering my life journey.
Biography
Links
Jing Zhou Studio Homepage: http://www.jingzhoustudio.net/
Monmouth University Faculty Page: https://www.monmouth.edu/academics/art/faculty/zhou.asp
