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Organized by Heather James Fine Art San Francisco April 4 - July 15, 2019
We Were Always Here: Japanese-American Post-War Pioneers of Art What does it mean when we speak about art history? Perhaps, we should talk about art histories, plural. That is to say that there are multiple histories, that happened and are happening concurrently and intertwining. We Were Always Here showcases these other ‘histories’. Focusing on works by Japanese-American artists who pushed artistic boundaries including Arakawa, Yayoi Kusama, Ruth Asawa, We Were Always Here reveals the cross-cultural artistic dialogues that were happening in the decades after WWII as central to the formation of modern and contemporary art. Thus, it was not just the singular artistic giants we think of in the mainstream narrative that shaped art history but artists in dialogue with each other. While many of the artists were born in the United States others chose the U.S. as their home. It is these confluences of identities that made the exhibited artists of this time period particularly potent. Their work expanded the vocabulary of painting, forms of sculpture, and ideas of conceptual art. Other artists in the exhibition include Tadasky (Tadasuke) Kuwayama, Kay Sekimachi, George Miyasaki, Sadamasa Motonaga, Kikuo Saito, Kumi Sugai, Honda Syoryu, and Masami Teraoka. This exhibition negotiates what it means to be the hyphen in JapaneseAmerican from Masami Teraoka with his juxtapositions of traditional Japanese visual art and American cultural to Yayoi Kusama who said that “America is really the country that raised me”. We Were Always Here showcases the diverse, boundary-pushing work by many artists who gained early recognition and only recently have reemerged at a national and international level with major institutional support. Art history is never settled and is always a process. That is the theoretical thrust of the exhibition’s title. And like the sculptures of Asawa and Sekimachi, the threads of history intertwine in beautifully complex ways. We all owe it to ourselves to follow these strands until we can finally step back to admire the work as a whole.
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ARTISTS IN THE EXHIBITION
ARAKAWA
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ARAKAWA Miracle of the Door 1964 acrylic and pencil on canvas 50 3/8 x 60 in.
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RUTH ASAWA
RUTH ASAWA Untitled c. 1950s steel wire 42 x 13 x 13 in.
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NAKATOMI HAJIME
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NAKATOMI HAJIME Prism Circle: Double Spiral 2017 madake bamboo, rattan 14 x 16 1/4 x 7 1/2 in.
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YAYOI KUSAMA
YAYOI KUSAMA A Nest 1981 mixed media and collage on paper 25 5/8 x 19 7/8 in.
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YAYOI KUSAMA Incomplete Proliferation No. 81 1951 ink and pastel on paper 16 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. 22
YAYOI KUSAMA Autumn 1952 pastel and ink on paper 10 3/8 x 7 1/4 23
YAYOI KUSAMA Untitled 1953 watercolor, gouache, pastel, and ink on paper 11 1/8 x 8 1/2 in. 24
YAYOI KUSAMA An Island (13) 1955 gouache on paper 11 1/2 x 12 1/2 in. 25
YAYOI KUSAMA Increment in the Spring 1986 acrylic, synthetic fibre, plastic and stuffed fabric in wooden box construction 39 1/2 x 23 1/2 x 11 7/8 26
YAYOI KUSAMA Seashore of Rotterdam 1988 acrylic on canvas 20 7/8 x 18 in. 27
TADASKY (TADASUKE) KUWAYAMA
TADASKY (TADASUKE) KUWAYAMA B-139 1964 acrylic on canvas 47 x 47 in. 30
TADASKY (TADASUKE) KUWAYAMA Multicolor with Black, C-176 1965 acrylic on canvas 46 x 46 in. 31
UENO MASAO
UENO MASAO Memories from the Sea 2018 madake bamboo, rattan, gold powder 16 1/2 x 17 x 6 1/4 in.
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GEORGE MIYASAKI
GEORGE MIYASAKI Mescalero mixed media 40 x 27 3/4 in. Edition AP
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SADAMASA MOTONAGA
SADAMASA MOTONAGA Untitled c. 1963 enamel paint on sased synthetic resin on canvas 7 7/8 x 10 7/8 in. 42
SADAMASA MOTONAGA Untitled 1966 oil on canvas 16 x 12 1/2 in. 43
EMIKO NAKANO
EMIKO NAKANO Fireworks at Night c. 1955 watercolor on paper 21 x 29 in.
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GEORGE NAKASHIMA
GEORGE NAKASHIMA Cocktail Table walnut 16 1/2 x 65 3/4 x 32 1/8 in. 50
GEORGE NAKASHIMA Conoid Chair walnut 20 7/8 x 21 x 35 1/2 in. 51
GEORGE NAKASHIMA Console 1989 walnut 54 x 37 x 29 3/4 in. 52
GEORGE NAKASHIMA Desk walnut 28 1/2 x 66 1/2 x 33 1/2 in. 53
ISAMU NOGUCHI
ISAMU NOGUCHI Untitled balsa wood, concreter 15 x 6 x 4 1/2 in.
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KIKUO SAITO
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KIKUO SAITO Prussian Summer 1980 oil on canvas 51 x 80 in.
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KAY SEKIMACHI
KAY SEKIMACHI Bowl 2012 black antique Japanese paper dyed with indigo, old Japanese document paper, laminated, Krylon coated 3 3/8 x 5 7/8 in. 64
KAY SEKIMACHI Bowl old Japanese document paper with calligraphy 3 1/2 x 5 5/8 in. 65
KAY SEKIMACHI Woven Box c. 2000 dyed linen 9 x 7 x 7 in. 66
KAY SEKIMACHI Nesting Box linen 4 1/4 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. 67
KAY SEKIMACHI Ogawa II 1969 translucent nylon monofilament, glass beads, plastic tubing, six-layered weave 76 x 9 x 10 1/2 in. 68
KAY SEKIMACHI Room Divider linen, warp ikat, plain weave, Brooks Bouquet, lace technique 86 3/4 x 30 1/2 in. 69
KUMI SUGAI
KUMI SUGAI 3 Heures D’Après Midi 1970 acrylic on canvas 24 x 19 3/4 in.
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HONDA SYORYU
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HONDA SYORYU Fireworks 2017 madake bamboo 48 x 40 x 18 in.
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MASAKO TAKAHASHI
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MASAKO TAKAHASHI Banner/Circles 2012 artist’s hair on hand-dyed silk 63 1/2 x 25 5/8 in.
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MASAKO TAKAHASHI Untitled c. 1960 oil on canvas 32 x 26 in.
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MASAKO TAKAHASHI Untitled c. 1960 oil on canvas 33 3/4 x 26 in. 84
MASAKO TAKAHASHI Untitled c. 1960 oil on canvas 25 x 21 1/8 in. 85
MASAMI TERAOKA
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MASAMI TERAOKA 31 Flavors invading Japan 1982 35 colors woodcut with hand watercolor on hosho paper 11 1/8 x 16 1/2 in. from the unnumbered edition of 500
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MASAMI TERAOKA Virtual Inferno/ Eating Barbie 2000 oil on canvas 5 x 4 in. 90
MASAMI TERAOKA Study for Tokyo Jogging Samurai 1985 watercolor on rice paper 14 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. 91
MASAMI TERAOKA Hanauma Bay Series - Octopus & Woman at Sandy Beach 1985 watercolor on paper 14 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.
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MASAMI TERAOKA Sarah and Octopus/Seventh Heaven 2001 29 color woodcut made from hand-carved blocks of cherry wood printed on Hosho paper 10 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. Edition 8/200 94
MASAMI TERAOKA Pearl Diver and Cell Phone 2004 watercolor on paper 19 x 30 1/8 in. 95
NAKAMURA TOMONORI
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NAKAMURA TOMONORI Moonlit Grove 2017 madake bamboo, rattan 26 1/4 x 18 x 10 1/2 in.
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TERUKO YOKOI
TERUKO YOKOI Schlucht am Abend (Evening Gorge) 1971 egg tempera on paper 24 1/2 x 18 1/4 in.
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TERUKO YOKOI Untitled 1982 egg tempera on paper 10 1/4 x 14 1/2 in. 104
TERUKO YOKOI Untitled 1983 egg tempera on paper 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in. 105
TERUKO YOKOI Untitled 1988 egg tempera on paper 6 3/4 x 4 1/8 in. 106
TERUKO YOKOI Untitled 1989 egg tempera on paper 5 3/4 x 4 1/8 in. 107
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