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AYA TAKANOV

attain a certain form of transcend ence. Aya Takano’s inner journeys wind their way into delicate works that convey a disturbing impression, somewhere between eroticism and impertinence. In a bedroom or in the metro, in front of the sky scrapers of a megalopolis or on the moon, naïve and androgynous girls are sketched out in thin, sharp Painter, illustrator, sci-fi writer and manga artist, Aya Takano belongs to Kaikai Kiki, the artistic pro duction studio created in 2001 by Takashi Murakami. Inspired by all art forms, from erotic stamps of the Edo Period to impressionism, from Osamu Tezuka to Gustav Klimt, the artist has built a universe all her own. A universe made of infinite worlds, all means of escaping reality, gravity and its restraints, to

lines. The artist’s mythol- ogy has constructed itself little by little, through her creations and visions of the unknown. In March 2011, a violent tsunami struck the northeastern coasts of Japan and led to the nuclear accident of Fukushima. A real wakeup call for the artist, this catastrophe deeply influ- enced her work. Preferring oil paint, which is more natural, to acrylic paint, for example, Aya Takano seems to pursue a new artistic quest, both humble and spiritual, influenced by a unique interest in science and guided by an absolute respect for nature and human life.

Kate Klingbeil Juxtapoz Projects, Mana Contemporary, Jersey City I recently m oved m ystudio from Brooklyn influencedhow I work.In previous iterations, or what’s not.Emergingfrom m ystudio at once point to and attempt to reclaim the cultural lens through which the female body is experienced. Klingbeil’s thick, sumptuous works of layered acrylic paint offer a uniquely vulnerable yet spirited vantage point into the artist’s experience with Hashimoto’s Disease. Dotted with butterflies and pill bottles, Pith’s unfiltered, holistic glimpse into life with an autoimmune disease does away with depictions of sick women as one-sided, leading lives largely dominated by their illness. Hashimoto Contemporary is pleased to present Pith, a solo exhibition featuring new painting and sculptural work by emerging artist Kate Klingbeil. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Klingbeil’s debut exhibition with the gallery explores themes of sexuality, resilience, the shadow self, heartbreak and healing. The unique, meticulously crafted relief paintings of Pith create a dreamscape in which a female protagonist explores her body both as figure and ground. The works Kate KlingbeilAMERİCAN 1990

Odysseus Wolken

James Stanford Light and Life in Las Vegas Jam es Stanford’s dad packedupthe household in the 1940s,and drove from Texas to Las Vegas to coach highschoolfootball. The older sonsdonned shoulderpads, butthe youngest,a strappingfigure w ho lookslikehe’d becom fortable guidinga horse onthe highplains,had broader ideasforhimself drawing what w as in front ofm efrom the stored set ofsym bols thatm ostchildrenhave when they draw. M ybrother did that, asw ell, but hehad done enoughlife drawingatart schoolto draw figures art throughbooks and m agazines.Duringthat tim e, m anyofthe m ajorm agazines had artists on the covers,and thatreally stim ulatedm e. SoI’m surprised to learn thatyou firstm ajored in English. STANFORD enough life drawing at art school to draw figures draw. My brother did that, as well, but he had done set of symbols that most children have when they drawing what was in front of me from the stored 16, I knew I wanted to be an artist, and I drew all when I was a small child. From the time I was a cartoonist, and that certainly impressed me : My older brother was a terrific artist, Jim Stanfordproscribed boundaries?harmony, but wants to go about it outside of you as someone who is compelled to seek Gwynned Vitelloof town. wandered through a mesquite grove in the middle Museum, Yayoi Kusama’s Inifinity Room and their stomping grounds where I toured the Neon I visited him and wife Lynn (a Mighty Muse!) in at 2018’s Asian Art in London. Shimmering Zenin creating the coruscating mandalas that culminated of Lights, James helms Smallworks Press when not and Las Vegas. An ambassador for this western City on the high plains, had broader ideas for himself who looks like he’d be comfortable guiding a horse shoulder pads, but the youngest, a strapping figure coach high school football. The older sons donned in the 1940s, and drove from Texas to Las Vegas to James Stanford’s dad packed up the household Light and Life in Las Vegas James Stanford and Las Vegas.Anambassadorforthis w estern City W here you atthatstage at16? I lovedw riting. I lovedpoetry, short stories ofLigh hel all ks w h ed beabl doth ll d, 16 d all th gh uld yb be

REPO RT

JAMES STANFORD

‘I fainted in front of this painting. I was unconscious for 15 minutes. I woke up with a flash grasp of many of the painting tech niques that he used. This start ed my devotion to painting.

The encounter provoked in Stan- ford an episode of shock, even ecstasy, of the kind known as Stendhal Syndrome – when exposure to a particular artwork of great personal sig- nificance produces an intense psychoso- matic reaction.