BOSTON, MASS.- LaiSun Keane is presenting a four person exhibition, PHANTASM featuring Japanese artists, Rena Kudoh, Taeko Maezawa, Risa Takahashi and Aico Tsumori on view from January 6 to February 26, 2023. An Opening Reception will be held on Friday, January 6 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm in the gallery. This will be the artists’ inaugural exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as this being the first United States exhibition for Kudoh, Takahashi and Tsumori.
This exhibition is a meeting of fantasy and reality, as four female artists come together to share their varied work. The pieces on view are inspired by a variety of sources including childhood memories, Japanese fairytales, and even their childrens’ drawings. These works are made by two different generations, with one painter and one ceramic artist each born in the 1970s and the others in the 1990s. Despite the gap in age, these artists share a commonality in the fantastical and fantasy aspects of their work, creating pieces that merge the two worlds together in unique and captivating ways.
Rena Kudoh (b.1994, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) is an artist who creates ceramic sculptures based on her memories and imaginations. Her sculptures are biomorphic and surreal, and explore the limits of clay. For this exhibition, Kudoh presents her whimsical teapot, cup and other utilitarian pots, as well as various surreal hybrid creatures. Her monumental sculpture, a two-headed 'sailor moon’, is a testament to her vivid imagination. Kudoh has exhibited her works extensively in Japan and South Korea, and has also participated in numerous art residencies in Japan and abroad. In 2019, she completed residencies in the USA at Peters Valley School of Craft, Sandyston, NJ; Penland School of Crafts, Bakersville, NC; and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME.
Taeko Maezawa (b.1977, Shizuoka, Japan) is a mixed media artist whose art is heavily influenced by her childhood memories, nature, and the fairytale "Taketori Monogatari". This fairytale inspired the 2013 Academy Award nominated movie "The Tale of Kaguyahime" and can be seen in Maezawa's artworks, many of which feature ethereal motifs of nature woven intricately into the composition. Maezawa has exhibited across the globe, from Japan and France to Bangladesh, South Korea, China, the Czech Republic, and the USA. She was educated at Kyoto University, Toho Eizo Abe Bijutsu, Tama Art University, Tokyo, and Cité internationale des Arts, Paris, France. Maezawa's artworks transport viewers to a dreamlike, otherworldly realm, and her ability to combine her love for Japanese fairytales and the patterning of Kimono with her own personal memories and experiences help to make her works truly one-of-a-kind.
Risa Takahashi (b.1994, Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) is an abstract painter who uses delicate lines and colors as a means of expression. Her art is essential to her as a way of expressing her emotions, particularly during collective experiences such as the Covid19 pandemic. Her undulated lines create a sense of movement and energy that captures the eye, almost like a visual representation of life showcasing its endless possibilities. Takahashi received her education at Tokyo Kasei University, Tokyo, Japan, and the Institute for Art Education, Miyagi, Japan.
Aico Tsumori (Born in 1979, Shiga Prefecture, Japan) is an artist who creates three-dimensional ceramic sculptures inspired by her daughter's drawings. By combining her mastery of sculpting, molding, glazing and firing, Tsumori brings her daughter's imaginative drawings to life. These sculptures are often whimsical, rustic figures of animals and humans that reflect the imaginations of both Tsumori and her daughter. Through this creative process, the artist honors her daughter's creative efforts and their collaboration is memorialized in the pieces. Tsumori received her BFA from Kyoto University, and has exhibited her artwork extensively in her native country.
