UMUC Akemi Maegawa Exhibition, 2016

PLU RALITY THE CONCEPTUAL ART OF AKEMI MAEGAWA

Arts Program • University of Maryland University College

PLU RALIT Y THE CONCEPTUAL ART OF AKEMI MAEGAWA

Arts Program

University of Maryland University College

Sunday, January 17–Sunday, April 17, 2016

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Welcome University of Maryland University College (UMUC) has a long history of offering a quality education to adults in the workforce and the military, in Maryland and around the world. Our Katherine Lambert

Arts Program supports that mission, displaying works of art and hosting public exhibitions, free of charge, that serve to introduce new and established artists to a broader audience.

Given that frame of reference, it is indeed an honor to host Plurality: The Conceptual Art of Akemi Maegawa.

Akemi Maegawa is a conceptual artist whose works question the world in which we live. She was born in Japan but currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland, where she continues to produce works that make political, social, and economic statements. Her art is imbued with multiple levels of meaning, and every piece helps us examine our world from a uniquely creative and international perspective.

I firmly believe that art sharpens our vision, deepens our understanding, enriches our experience of the world, and celebrates the creativity in each of us. That creativity, in turn, fires imagination, nurtures innovation, and drives us to learn and to grow.

I know I speak on behalf of all at UMUC when I say how proud we are to showcase the thought-provoking work of a truly unique talent in Plurality: The Conceptual Art of Akemi Maegawa.

Javier Miyares President University of Maryland University College

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Introduction The Arts Program at UMUC prides

have died because of it. Many of Maegawa’s works transform the

itself on presenting visual art exhibi-

simple into something complex, often challenging the viewer to

tions that are creative, educational,

think pluralistically.

Steven Halperson

and of the highest quality. For 35 years, the program has sought out

Another such piece is Taste (p. 7). This ceramic work represents

artists who have spent significant

the full-size human brain. However, Maegawa created the piece

time developing their talent and

with a straw protruding from the brain. One can only imagine the

voice as artists. Although the length

message that the artist is conveying. Is the straw a symbol of

of an artist’s career is not the only

something being sucked out or something being placed into the

criterion the Exhibition Committee

brain? If indeed it represents either, what is being placed into the

looks at when considering an exhibi-

brain and what could be coming out? Again, the answers to those

tion, it certainly helps the committee to trace the progression of

questions, as Maegawa intends, are pluralistic and interpretive.

the artist’s work. In this case, with the aid of curator Brian Young,

Maegawa’s works take the viewer on a journey of imagination

we have been introduced to a young artist who has found her

and exploration. More importantly, the works cause the viewer to

voice and communicates her message through her art. Akemi

react, ponder, think, and conclude. Regardless of the conclusion,

Maegawa does not have the exhibition résumé of artists who

Maegawa achieves her goal, which is to have her audience look at

have been producing and exhibiting works for years, but she

her work in more than a single way. Her works are what they can

has created an important body of work well worth presenting

be rather than what they appear to be.

in an exhibition.

Maegawa received her BFA from the Corcoran College of Art and Maegawa is a conceptual artist whose works question the world

Design in 2005 and her MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of

in which we live. She was born in Japan and currently lives in the

Art in 2007. She has received many artistic awards, including the

Washington, D.C., area, where she produces works that make

Ceramics Genius Award at the Corcoran. Her biography in this

political, social, and economic statements. She creates simple

catalog provides a glimpse into her artistic career.

works with dual meanings, such as Baby Bottles with Tank (p. 20).

At first glance, the sculptural objects appear to be in the shape

The Arts Program at UMUC invites you to experience the multiple

of baby bottles. But on closer inspection, the viewer realizes that

meanings in Plurality: The Conceptual Art of Akemi Maegawa.

Maegawa has incorporated sections of a military tank onto the ceramic bottles. Once the bottles are assembled together, it is

Eric Key

clear that the depiction is a military tank—suggesting war and

Director, Arts Program

its effect on the young who grow up to fight in it or babies who

University of Maryland University College

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Akemi Maegawa: Dualities

at the Corcoran. And before she graduated from Cranbrook, she

BY BRIAN YOUNG

SculptureCenter in New York City; the PF Gallery near Detroit;

received acclaim in numerous exhibitions, such as those at the the Irvine Contemporary in Washington, D.C.; and Area 405 in

I have known Akemi Maegawa and her work since 2006, when she was completing her MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. At that time, I was the curator for the Cranbrook Art Museum and responsible for overseeing the MFA installation, in which every graduating student is required to exhibit. Even then, I gave Maegawa a coveted spot to showcase her work. Over subsequent years, I have learned a great deal more about Maegawa and her work, which continues to evolve. She harnesses an intellectual energy that resides in every work, no matter how whimsical it may first appear.

Maegawa was born in Tsu, the capital city of Mie prefecture, Japan, in 1968. In 1995 she moved to Hong Kong, where she worked in the financial field until 2000. But the following year, she enrolled at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, where she earned a BFA. Her education at Cranbrook followed. Maegawa now resides in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband Ryszard Pluta, MD, PhD, who enjoyed a celebrated career as a neurosurgeon before becoming a medical researcher.

At Cranbrook, Maegawa studied with the highly esteemed ceramist Tony Hepburn, an artist I had known previously from my time at the Arkansas Arts Center. Because Cranbrook is so selective— accepting only 15 artists in each of 10 disciplines—my expectations were high for Maegawa and her colleagues. I later found out that she had received no fewer than three awards for ceramics while

Baltimore, Maryland.

The Cranbrook Academy of Art prides itself on fluidly mixing disciplines. A ceramist like Maegawa could fully expect to study and immerse herself in other media, despite her coveted place in the prestigious ceramics department. In fact, my strongest memories of my early encounters with her work did not focus on ceramics.

Perhaps she first came to my attention when I “caught” her wrapping Carl Milles’s large-scale statue Europa and the Bull, which is permanently installed on the Cranbrook campus. Maegawa used a light-colored, soft fabric and tightly fitted it around the piece as she did with Wrapping Project–Studio (p. 7). To keep the fabric taut, she sewed all the seams by hand. As Maegawa later explained, it seemed that people had stopped noticing the imposing bronze work—despite the sculptor’s fame, the provocative subject, and its prominent location. However, by covering the work, ironically, Maegawa brought attention back to the piece. Visitors seemed to use the transformation as a jumping-off point to discuss the role of public sculpture as well as Maegawa’s work. Incidentally, Maegawa wrapped this enormous work during a cold Michigan winter. Some people initially thought she was providing a protective cover.

For her MFA requirement, Maegawa created a provocative conceptual piece called Wrapping Project–Wish Balloon (p. 4). She asked some 50 to 100 people who had influenced her career to blow into a balloon as they made a wish. The balloons were then installed on a wall, where they slowly deflated as if the wishes themselves had dissipated into the surrounding ether. I bring up these two early

LEFT: Wrapping Project–Wish Balloon (inflated, detail), 2007–2015,

balloon, fabric, thread, and Japanese handmade paper, size variable (approximate wall installation size 12 x 12 x 1½ feet)

works not to reminisce nostalgically about our budding friendship; rather, I want people to understand that even when Maegawa was studying with one of the most respected ceramists in the United

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States, she chose to work in fiber,

These objects also reflect the artist’s

balloons, and above all else, with

focus on handmade objects. The

ideas. In this current exhibition, there

hand-building and hand-stitching

is a good deal of work that reflects

methods used in both are inten-

her mastery of ceramics. There is

tional. Maegawa does not use high

also an abundance of work in other

technology, nor does she employ

media, including fiber. But taken as

mass production.

a whole, this body of work is really about the manifestation of ideas into

Baby Bottles with Tank (p. 20) and

concrete form. When approaching

Baby Bottles with Gun (p. 21), both

Maegawa’s work, I would encourage

from 2006, portray a different colli-

viewers first to consider the mes-

sion of ideas than Cradle to Grave

sage and then to explore how that

does. There is the obvious, jarring

message came to be.

employment of weaponry with items intended for babies. To my eyes, this

One of the principal messages in this

pairing has the effect of opposing

exhibition is reflected in the exhibi-

the presence of tanks and guns.

tion’s title, Plurality: The Conceptual

There is also another duality here.

Art of Akemi Maegawa. Cradle to

In most Asian cultures, ceramics are

Grave, 2014, is a perfect encapsula-

used for utilitarian or ceremonial pur-

tion of the exhibition. There are eight

poses, the most obvious being for

whimsical and colorful Volkswagen

eating and drinking. Here, Maegawa

buses that have a reborn, hippie

has used a craft object, instilling it

spirit about them. The obvious visual

with a political or social statement

element in these objects is that Mae-

against the use of weapons and

gawa has taken a symbol of Ameri-

force. Such statements are rare in

can freedom and consumerism and

the world of contemporary craft.

paired it with another symbol, for

There is precedence, but the field

example, the symbol representing the opposing forces of yin and yang on the sides of the two red vehicles.

Cradle to Grave (detail), 2014, stoneware, silk thread, fabric, and beads, 4 editions, each ceramic piece 7 x 11 x 7 inches, each fabric piece 11 x 11 x 7 inches

On one level, Maegawa is putting on display a reference to both the East

of contemporary craft is typically more benign (Confrontational Clay being one exception). Beginning in the 1950s, Peter Voulkos, began to make clay objects that shed their

and West as they collide. These Volkswagen buses might repre-

utilitarian purpose, and later Robert Arneson infused his ceramic

sent the European and American taste for open roads and bright

pieces with humor and politics. Maegawa is part of that tradition,

self-promotion, in contrast to the Eastern belief in cosmology,

but her works do not venture into the realm of unsettling. Aestheti-

invisible forces, and an overall sense of balance. While this might

cally, they remain bright and balanced.

be Maegawa’s intention, the viewer has to look a bit deeper. The cloth vehicle in each pair is in actuality a baby toy, while the ceramic

Wrapping Project–Studio (p. 7) dates from 2008, and it shares

one is an urn for one’s ashes. So this really is a work that lives up

sensibilities with the Cranbrook piece in which she wrapped Carl

to its title. On another level, the piece is also personal, reflecting

Milles’s Europa and the Bull. In fact, Maegawa said that wrapping

the artist’s interest in both fiber and ceramics and the duality of

the bull came after Wrapping Project–Studio, in part because after

Maegawa’s background in two cultures. The playful nature of the

wrapping her studio contents, Maegawa no longer had access to

piece might even be a tongue-in-cheek allusion to stereotypes.

them. The overall effect of this more personal work is that it seems

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Baby Bottles with Gun, 2006, porcelain, size variable

to elevate the status of artist. The artist’s tools become worthy of special protection and admiration. The idea of plurality is also demonstrated in a conceptual notion that the tools themselves can become works of art, or at least the soul of the art. The piece also indicates recognition of the work of Christo, but as Maegawa is quick to point out, there is a difference: Christo aims to obscure the underlying element; Maegawa reinforces it.

Taste, 2011, is another piece in the exhibition that is difficult to categorize. Clearly, there is a nod to her husband, a neurosurgeon.

Yet I am more intrigued by—and admiring of—the idea that this work barely climbs into the realm of fine art. Without the straw, one might imagine that this piece would be awfully close to the anatomical brain models that are used in medical training. And isn’t it curious that the straw is a ready-made item of sorts? But it provides the springboard into making Taste a work of fine art.

In the context of a gallery setting, however, the work plays with our senses and with our sensibilities.

Plurality: The Conceptual Art of Akemi Maegawa is an exhibition that provides a rich glimpse into the art and mind of a gifted ceramist. Each piece leads the viewers into different realms simultaneously.

TOP: Taste, 2011, stoneware, acrylic paint, and straw, 10 x 8 x 9½ inches Brian Young was the senior curator of the Arts Program at UMUC and was instrumental in developing this exhibition.

BOTTOM: Wrapping Project–Studio, 2008, fabric and objects from studio,

62 x 47½ x 40 inches

PLURALIT Y THE CONCEPTUAL ART OF AKEMI MAEGAWA

RIGHT: ORGANIZING MEMORIES (detail)

e

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ORGANIZING MEMORIES

What is the most important thing in my life? This is a question I ask myself repeatedly whenever I reach a critical point in my life. I asked the same question before starting this project. I felt a strong need to somehow organize my memories, to find out the answer at that moment. What is a memory? Do I have enough clues to recall my lifetime of memories? No, I don’t. I am a traveler, and I don’t store old, used things. I don’t even have photographs of my childhood. Some periods in my life are completely blocked and I don’t remember what happened. But I believe that those memories exist. In other cases, I selectively remember good and bad experiences. Good or bad, I value them all. Having memory means that I have been alive and that I am still alive. I am growing as a human being, accumulating these memories whenever I experience new emotions or feelings. The feelings I experienced are the most important part of my life.

Making multiple book-like objects is suitable to creating a visual image related to collections, memories, and stories.

These objects represent diaries. I decided to use two different media for the books to distinguish my memories.

I selected 60 Japanese words related to feelings or emotions I am confident that I have experienced. I separated the memories into negative and positive categories. Each fabric-covered book contains one page of Japanese handmade paper. I wrote each Japanese word on the left side of the page with Sumi ink, and I printed out the direct English translation, from my computer dictionary, on the right. To supplement the English translation of each Japanese word, I made small figurative objects in porcelain with the exact facial expression I would use for the word.

ORGANIZING MEMORIES | 2005, porcelain, fabric, Japanese handmade paper, and form, size variable

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I realized that in my emotional word collection, there are more negative than positive words (34 vs. 26). The negative experiences were easier to recall. I decided to use fabric with colorful patterns to underline the fact that these memories are easier to reach or recall and emphasize that they are no less valuable than the positive experiences.

I made two bags for my installation: one is for the fabric-covered books and the other is for the ceramic figures.

These bags are used in transportation of the objects. The bags emphasize the importance of those memories that I will carry with me when I travel. At the same time, when I pack all of them in the bags, the “sharing moment� is over, and the bags become caskets for the memories. —Akemi Maegawa

ORGANIZING MEMORIES (detail)

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ICHIGO DARUMA | 2008, porcelain, 7 x 5 x 5 inches

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2008 DARUMA | 2008, porcelain, 8½ x 6½ x 4 inches

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BLUE SKY CAKE (U.S. AND JAPAN) | 2014, earthenware and porcelain, 6 x 9 x 9 inches

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BLUE SKY CAKE (U.S. AND JAPAN)

The cake is symbolic. It is not just a sweet desert; it is a symbol of sharing happiness when people eat it together on a special occasion in life. Wherever we live in the world, there is a similar ritual to celebrate meaningful occasions together by sharing food or a cake with family or friends. But such a simple celebration and sharing happiness can be a very difficult thing to do for some people because of economic, social, or family problems.

I never had a birthday cake or birthday party when I was a child. It was my husband who organized my first birthday party, and I celebrated my not-so-young birthday with our friends in the States. I remember well how happy I was having my first birthday cake. While enjoying the cake, I thought about my younger sister who lives in Japan and wished she could join me to eat my birthday cake, which we had never eaten together.

My cake sculptures titled Blue Sky Cake (U.S. and Japan) are made of ceramic. We cannot eat them, but we can look at them together and they last forever, like the sky we share. A small porcelain cloud sits comfortably on the cake, suggesting that like a free cloud in the sky, we can find our destination. Even though we cannot eat the birthday cake together, Blue Sky Cake reminds me that we can always celebrate together by just looking up in the same sky, despite being in Japan or in the States. —Akemi Maegawa

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YOUR SUNNY SIDE SHOULD BE UP CHAIR (installation)

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YOUR SUNNY SIDE SHOULD BE UP CHAIR | 2006, stoneware, fabric, and foam, 5 x 12 x 12 feet

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TASTE | 2011, stoneware, acrylic paint, and straw, 10 x 8 x 9½ inches

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NEW GENERATION | 2010, stoneware, artificial moss, wire, and Japanese handmade paper, 7 x 7 x 5 inches

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BABY BOTTLES

I believe that all mothers care equally for the healthy growth and happiness of their children. Every newborn baby all over the world is fed by the mother with breast milk or milk from a baby bottle. There is no religious, sexual, or cultural difference in feeding a baby.

When the war in the Middle East started, I could not stop thinking about the pain of mothers who lose their children in wars. Is there any mother in the world who wants her baby to become a killer or to be killed in a war? Why are there wars? Why are we killing our children? I ask those questions through the body of work titled Baby Bottles with Gun and Baby Bottles with Tank.

BABY BOTTLES WITH TANK | 2006, porcelain, size variable

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I made multiple baby bottles, and I hand painted part of an image of a gun or a tank on each baby bottle with an underglaze. The pieces are like puzzles. One has to put them together in a special order to show a clear image of a gun or a tank. Only when the bottles are assembled correctly and viewed from a special angle can one see the most disconnecting image about how we feed babies . . . and it keeps us questioning why. —Akemi Maegawa

BABY BOTTLES WITH GUN | 2006, porcelain, size variable

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DARUMA CHAIR | 2007, fabric and foam, 3 x 5 x 5 feet

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OPPOSITE ATTRACTION | 2004, steel, fabric, and fiberfill, 28 x 32 x 27 inches

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DOUBLE IMAGE DRAWING | 2010, vinyl, felt, and thread, 8 editions, 20 x 15 inches

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DOUBLE IMAGE DRAWING (edition 2 of 8)

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DOUBLE IMAGE DRAWING (edition 6 of 8)

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DARUMA COMMODITY SERIES

I make Daruma sculptures because I want to introduce here one of the most commonly used self-motivational objects in Japan. Daruma dolls were created based on the myth of a monk named Daruma who lost his legs and hands after long meditation to achieve enlightenment. His dedication and perseverance encourage people to work hard to achieve their own goals and remind them to never give up. A regular Daruma doll in Japan comes without pupils in the eyes—it looks like Daruma with his eyes closed. When you define your own goal, you draw in one pupil, leaving Daruma with the one eye opened while you work every day toward that goal. Only when you achieve your goal can you draw the other pupil. So, when both eyes are open, Daruma is a symbol of achievement. And it has very positive energy.

DARUMA COMMODITY SERIES (front) | 2005, stoneware and fabric, 13 x 15 x 15 inches

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As a Japanese-born artist living in the States, I think about my identity very often. The United States is a multiracial, multicultural, and multireligious country, while Japan is a homogenous country. However, I think prejudice, based on how a person looks or where he or she belongs, exists in the States as well as in Japan. With consumer culture expanding globally, the image of the brand, especially a luxury brand, is becoming part of many people’s identity. I think luxury brands create another layer of the (superficial) identity—not only in the States but also all over the world.

I created the Daruma Commodity Series simply thinking what Daruma would feel wearing an outfit with a luxury brand logo on it. And I ask whether he would be valued based on the brand logo as a commodity instead of Daruma himself. Is this what we have achieved—exchanging the pursuit of the harmony of enlightenment for a world where we hide differences behind luxurious brands? —Akemi Maegawa

DARUMA COMMODITY SERIES (back)

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HOUSE | 2015, stoneware, 5 editions, 9 x 8½ x 7½ inches

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HOUSE (editions 2 and 4 of 5, detail)

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WRAPPING PROJECT–STUDIO | 2008, fabric and objects from studio, 62 x 47½ x 40 inches

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HYBRID | 2004, stoneware, leather, wire, and beads, 9 x 12 x 9 inches

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CLOUD SERIES 1 | 2010–12, fabric and stoneware, 9 x 6 x 3 feet

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CLOUD SERIES 2 | 2013, fabric and stoneware, 9 x 6 x 3 feet

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WRAPPING PROJECT–WISH BALLOON

Wrapping Project–Wish Balloon is my ongoing investigation of the objects of care and the act of caring. I worked on Wrapping Project–Europa, Carl Milles’s Europa and the Bull (a large-scale bronze sculpture in the garden of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan), Wrapping Project–Studio (tools and objects in my studio), and Wrapping Project–Wish Balloon (people’s wishes in balloons) while studying at Cranbrook. At that time, I wanted to find out the outcome of carefully and tightly covering a well-known object. Sometimes it was a painstaking process, like covering the Europa sculpture in the middle of Michigan’s unforgiving winter.

I hand stitched felt over each object so that the form of the object underneath would still be identifiable after wrapping. The fabric layer that I created can be viewed as a protection or an external skin (like a cocoon). It hides the object and makes it visually inaccessible, but the covering also makes us more aware of the form of the object or the existence of the object by itself. By creating such an external skin and presenting the covered object, I question the meaning of the object and the role of protection and care.

WRAPPING PROJECT–WISH BALLOON (deflated, detail)

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For Wrapping Project–Wish Balloon, I asked people around me to make a wish while blowing up a balloon. Then I carefully covered each of the wish balloons with felt by hand stitching. Unlike wrapping a solid object, wrapping a wish balloon demanded extra caution. I did not want to pop or break anybody’s wish existing in the balloon. I had no idea what kind of wishes people had made in the balloons, but I felt a huge responsibility each time I held a balloon.

While I was sewing and wrapping the balloon, I thought about the person the entire time.

The original Wrapping Project–Wish Balloon was tightly wrapped (stitched) over the real balloon, and each wrapped balloon was hung on the wall like a piece of fruit. Those people’s “wishes,” the air in the balloon, completely vanished with time. However, the external skin I created for each balloon remains as a memory of the wish as each dropped to the floor like dried fruit. This Wrapping Project–Wish Balloon (deflated) raises questions about time and memory. And I find it very poetic and beautiful to visualize something important being dispersed with time—so we all are breathing those people’s dreams together. —Akemi Maegawa

WRAPPING PROJECT–WISH BALLOON (deflated) | 2007–2015, balloon, fabric, thread, and Japanese handmade paper, size variable (approximate floor installation size 5 x 5 feet)

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FORTUNE COOKIE | 2009, stoneware, fabric, and zipper, 5 x 6½ x 6½ inches

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ARTIST’S URN IS A COLLECTOR’S COOKIE JAR | 2011, porcelain, earthenware, fabric, silk thread, and fiberfill, 8½ x 6½ x 6½ inches

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CRADLE TO GRAVE (edition 4 of 4, detail)

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CRADLE TO GRAVE

I made Cradle to Grave thinking about life and death, yin and yang, beginning and end. Cradle to Grave consists of four pairs of iconic Volkswagen buses, a symbol of the hippie era when I was born. Each pair consists of a fabric sculpture and a ceramic sculpture. The soft fabric Volkswagen is made like a baby’s toy for a newborn; the ceramic Volkswagen sculpture is an actual urn for keeping the ashes of a dead person.

I think Western culture over-encourages staying young or looking young and not appreciating natural aging. People are too afraid of getting old and dying, and they even avoid thinking or talking about death. However, life and death coexist, and I believe that getting old is a very natural thing and that we all should embrace it as a positive thing.

I wanted to use the playful image of a Volkswagen bus to celebrate two stages of life—both at the beginning and the end—with joy. It must be nice to rest in an urn, and it reminds me how my life started. Nevertheless, before getting there, I hope to find many more paths and interesting things in life while naturally and gracefully getting old. —Akemi Maegawa

CRADLE TO GRAVE | 2014, stoneware, silk thread, fabric, and beads, 4 editions, each ceramic piece 7 x 11 x 7 inches, each fabric piece 11 x 11 x 7 inches

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SIZE MATTERS (edition 1 of 5, detail) | 2006, porcelain and C-print, 40 x 60 inches

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SIZE MATTERS (editions 2–5 of 5, details)

AKEMI MAEGAWA BORN 1968 TSU, MIE PREFECTURE, JAPAN

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Artist’s Biography EDUCATION 2007

MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

2005

BFA, Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2015

2007

Anton Art Center, Mount Clemens, Michigan

2007

The First Annual Alumni Juried Exhibition, Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C.

2007

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 2006

DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Office, Detroit, Michigan

Thank You Artist Friends on Facebook Project, Nano Gallery, District of Columbia Arts Center,

Forum Gallery, Cranbrook Academy of Art,

2006

Lucky Draw 2006, SculptureCenter, New York, New York

2006

Chair Spray, PF Gallery, Clawson, Michigan

USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, California

2005

Area 405/Triad Galleries, Baltimore, Maryland

2014

Shrink It, Pink It, Cathouse FUNeral, Brooklyn, New York

2003

Washington Square Sculpture Show, Washington, D.C.

2013

Raising Dust, Carroll Square Gallery, Washington, D.C.

2013

Ephemera Show, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, Virginia

2012

Seven Years Itch Group Show, Anaba Project,

Washington, D.C. 2014–15 Insight: The Path of Bodhidharma,

Bethesda, Maryland 2011

Artist Tribute 2, Irvine Contemporary, Washington, D.C.

2011

New Work by Gallery Artists, Irvine Contemporary, Washington, D.C.

2010

New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Art Fair,

PUBLICATIONS Bmoreart.com. “Akemi Maegawa at Irvine Contemporary.”

February 20, 2008. http://bmoreart.com/2008/02/akemimaegawa-at-irvine-contemporary.html Capps, Kriston. “Wrapper’s Delight: Akemi Maegawa’s Latest Works Showcase Her Fancy for Felt.” Washington City Paper, August 17, 2007. www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/2347/wrappers-delight Judkis, Maura. “Invisible, Inc.” Washington City Paper, March 7, 2008. www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/

Miami Beach, Florida

34697/34invisible-inc34

2010

Solo Show, Academy Art Museum, Easton, Maryland

Washington Life Magazine. “Paint the Town: Corcoran Ready

2009

Washington Project for the Arts Show, Katzen Arts

com/2009/12/03/paint-the-town-corcoran-ready-for-art-basel

Center, American University, Washington, D.C. 2008

Aspect:Ratio 2, Irvine Contemporary, Washington, D.C.

2008

Invisible, Inc. Solo Show, Irvine Contemporary, Washington, D.C.

2008

Reunion Show, Irvine Contemporary, Washington, D.C.

for Art Basel.” December 3, 2009. www.washingtonlife.

Jenkins, Mark. “In the Galleries: Justin D. Strom and Akemi Maegawa.” Washington Post. June 5, 2015. www.washingtonpost. com/entertainment/museums/in-the-galleries-photographs-fromthe-jim-crow-era-south/2015/06/04/faf1c74c-086a-11e5-9e390db921c47b93_story.html

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Exhibition List 2008 Daruma

House

2008, porcelain, 8½ x 6½ x 4 inches

2015, stoneware, 5 editions,

Artist’s Urn Is a Collector’s Cookie Jar

9 x 8½ x 7½ inches

2011, porcelain, earthenware, fabric,

Hybrid

silk thread, and fiberfill,

2004, stoneware, leather, wire, and beads,

8½ x 6½ x 6½ inches

9 x 12 x 9 inches

Baby Bottles with Gun

Ichigo Daruma

2006, porcelain, size variable

2008, porcelain, 7 x 5 x 5 inches

Baby Bottles with Tank

New Generation

2006, porcelain, size variable

2010, stoneware, artificial moss,

Blue Sky Cake (U.S. and Japan) 2014, earthenware and porcelain, 6 x 9 x 9 inches Cloud Series 1 2010–12, fabric and stoneware, 9 x 6 x 3 feet Cloud Series 2 2013, fabric and stoneware, 9 x 6 x 3 feet Cradle to Grave 2014, stoneware, silk thread, fabric, and beads,

wire, and Japanese handmade paper, 7 x 7 x 5 inches Opposite Attraction 2004, steel, fabric, and fiberfill, 28 x 32 x 27 inches Organizing Memories 2005, porcelain, fabric, Japanese handmade paper, and form, size variable Size Matters 2006, porcelain and C-print, 5 editions, 40 x 60 inches

4 editions, each ceramic piece 7 x 11 x 7 inches,

Taste

each fabric piece 11 x 11 x 7 inches

2011, stoneware, acrylic paint,

Daruma Chair 2007, fabric and foam, 3 x 5 x 5 feet Daruma Commodity Series 2005, stoneware and fabric, 13 x 15 x 15 inches Double Image Drawing 2010, vinyl, felt, and thread, 8 editions, 20 x 15 inches Fortune Cookie 2009, stoneware, fabric, and zipper, 5 x 6½ x 6½ inches

and straw, 10 x 8 x 9½ inches Wrapping Project–Studio 2008, fabric and objects from studio, 62 x 47½ x 40 inches Wrapping Project–Wish Balloon (deflated) 2007–2015, balloon, fabric, thread, and Japanese handmade paper, size variable (approximate floor installation size 5 x 5 feet) Your Sunny Side Should Be Up Chair 2006, stoneware, fabric, and foam, 5 x 12 x 12 feet

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About UMUC SERVING BUSY PROFESSIONALS WORLDWIDE University of Maryland University College (UMUC) specializes in high-quality academic programs that are convenient for busy professionals. Our programs are specifically tailored to fit into the demanding lives of those who wish to pursue a respected degree that can advance them personally and grow their careers.

UMUC has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence as a comprehensive virtual university and, through a combination of classroom and distance-learning formats, provides educational opportunities to more than 80,000 students. The university is

Artworks are on display throughout the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center at UMUC and the Administration Building in Adelphi as well as at the UMUC Academic Center at Largo. The main, lower-level gallery in Adelphi is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, and the Leroy Merritt Center for the Art of Joseph Sheppard is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. More than 75,000 students, scholars, and visitors come to the Adelphi facilities each year. Exhibitions at the UMUC Academic Center at Largo are open to visitors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

proud to offer highly acclaimed faculty and world-class student

UMUC Arts Program Mission Statement

services to educate students online, throughout Maryland, across

The Arts Program at UMUC creates an environment in which its

the United States, and in 20 countries and territories around the

diverse constituents, including members of the university com-

world. UMUC serves its students through undergraduate and

munity and the general public, can study and learn about art by

graduate programs, noncredit leadership development, and

directly experiencing it.

customized programs. For more information regarding UMUC and its programs, visit www.umuc.edu.

The Arts Program seeks to promote the university’s core values and to provide educational opportunities for lifelong learning.

About the Arts Program at UMUC

From the research and study of works of art to the teaching

Since 1978, UMUC has proudly shown works from a large collec-

an increasing role in academic life at the university. With a regional

tion of international and Maryland artists at its headquarters in Adelphi, Maryland, a few miles from the nation’s capital. Through its Arts Program, the university provides a prestigious and wideranging forum for emerging and established artists and brings art to the community through special exhibitions and its own collections, which have grown to include more than 2,800 pieces of art.

applications of each of our exhibitions, the Arts Program will play and national focus, the Arts Program is dedicated to the acquisition, preservation, study, exhibition, and interpretation of works of art of the highest quality in a variety of media that represent its constituents and to continuing its historic dedication to Maryland and Asian art.

UMUC’s collections focus on both art by Maryland artists and

Contributors

art from around the world. They include the Maryland Artist

DIRECTOR, ARTS PROGRAM: Eric Key

Collection, the Doris Patz Collection of Maryland Artists, the

CURATORS: Eric Key, Brian Young

Asian Collections, the Education Collection, and the International

EDITORS: Sandy Bernstein, Beth Butler,

Collection. The university’s collection of Maryland art includes

Nancy Kochuk, Barbara Reed

approximately 2,000 works and provides a comprehensive survey

DIRECTOR, INSTITUTIONAL PROJECTS: Cynthia Friedman

of 20th- and 21st-century Maryland art. The university’s Asian

DESIGNER: Jennifer Norris

Collections consist of nearly 420 pieces of Chinese art, Japa-

PROJECT MANAGER: Laurie Bushkoff

nese prints, and Balinese folk art, dating from the Tang dynasty

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Scott Eury

(618–907 AD) through the 19th century—a historical reach of 13

FINE ARTS TECHNICIAN: René A. Sanjines

centuries. The UMUC collection of Japanese prints includes

ARTWORK PHOTOGRAPHY: pages 4, 42–43

more than 120 prints by 35 artists.

by Akemi Maegawa; all others by John Woo

48

UMUC Art Advisory Board

Eric Key Director, Arts Program University of Maryland University College

David W. Bower Sr. Chief Executive Officer Data Computer Corporation of America

Thomas Li, Honorary Member Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ret. Biotech Research Labs, Inc.

Karl R. Gumtow Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer CyberPoint International, LLC

David Maril, Honorary Member Journalist President, Herman Maril Foundation

Anne V. Maher, Esq. Attorney at Law Kleinfeld, Kaplan & Becker, LLP

Myrtis Bedolla, Vice Chair Owner and Founding Director Galerie Myrtis

Barbara Stephanic, PhD, Honorary Member Professor of Art History, Ret. College of Southern Maryland

Joan Bevelaqua Artist, Art Faculty University of Maryland University College

Dianne A. Whitfield-Locke, DDS Collector and Patron of the Arts Owner, Dianne Whitfield-Locke Dentistry

Lt. Gen. Emmett Paige Jr., U.S. Army, Ret. Vice President of Operations, Ret. Department of Defense/ Intelligence Services Lockheed Martin Information Technology

I-Ling Chow, Honorary Member Regional President and Managing Director, Ret. Asia Bank, N.A.

Sharon Wolpoff Artist and Owner Wolpoff Studios

Nina C. Dwyer Artist, Adjunct Professor of Art Montgomery College

UMUC Board of Visitors

Sharon R. Pinder President and Chief Executive Officer Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council

Mark J. Gerencser, Chair Chairman of the Board CyberSpa, LLC

Brig. Gen. Velma L. Richardson, U.S. Army, Ret. President, VLR Consulting

Evelyn J. Bata, PhD Collegiate Professor University of Maryland University College

Gen. John (Jack) Vessey Jr., U.S. Army, Ret., Member Emeritus Former Chairman U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff

Javier Miyares President University of Maryland University College Anne V. Maher, Esq., Chair Attorney at Law Kleinfeld, Kaplan & Becker, LLP Eva J. Allen, Honorary Member Art Historian

Karin Goldstein, Honorary Member Collector and Patron of the Arts Juanita Boyd Hardy, Honorary Member Executive Director CulturalDC Sharon Holston, Honorary Member Artist's Representative and Co-Owner, Holston Originals Pamela Holt Consultant Public Affairs and Cultural Policy Administration

Richard F. Blewitt, Member Emeritus Managing Partner, R&B Associates and President, The Blewitt Foundation Joseph V. Bowen Jr. Senior Vice President, Operations, and Managing Principal, Ret. McKissack & McKissack

Charles E. (Ted) Peck Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ret. The Ryland Group, Inc.

William T. (Bill) Wood, JD Founder Wood Law Offices, LLC Joyce M. Wright Senior Consultant Fitzgerald Consulting

Š 2015 University of Maryland University College. All rights reserved.

Copyright credits and attribution for certain illustrations are cited internally proximate to the illustrations.

ISBN 13:978-0-9842265-0-4 ISBN-10: 0-98442265-0-8

15-ARTS-031 (11/15)