Leiko Ikemura: Transfiguration
8 November, 2011 - 22 January, 2012
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Hours: 9:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Closed: Mondays (except January 9, 2012), December 29, 2011 - January 3, 2012, January 10, 2012
Admission: Adults: 900(700)yen Students(Elementary or junior high school): 400(300)yen
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Organaized by Mie Prefectural Art Museum, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Cooperation provided by Lufthansa Cargo AG
Supported by The Chunichi Simbun, Tsu City, Tsu City Board of Education, Mie FM Broadcasting Co., Ltd, Mie Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd
Subsidized by Mie Prefectural Art Museum Assistance Foundation, The Cultural Foundation of Okada, Japan Arts Council
Originally born in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, Leiko Ikemura went to Spain in 1972, and there, she studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Seville. After that, she spent some time in Switzerland, but currently, most of her recent artistic activity has been based in Germany.
One of the things in common among all of these works is Ikemura's interest in "transfiguration"-the back and forth between being and nothingness, the evolution from animal to human, the movement between untouchable nature and human civilization. There is a tendency on the part of most people to see these as independent, one-way movements, but Ikemura sees them as a complementary types of movement that many move along circular, even serpentine paths. One sees this reflected her artwork.
Ikemura creates artworks on the theme of "transfiguration", always conscious that the natural world and humanity are entities that are, by their very nature, in a state of change. Her paintings are of a size that fits well with the portions of the human body. For her sculptures, she uses clay, which can easily return to the soil, and for her drawings, she uses only the simplest of media, namely charcoal and paper. As an artist, Ikemura has thought about the act of creation in her practice, and one can see a reflection of these in her artwork, which one might describe as ecological.
Ikemura has earned a high international reputation as an artist, especially in Europe and in Japan. In recent years her solo shows have been given at European art museums. This exhibition is the first, full-fledged retrospective in Japan to display a wide selection her work, ranging from her beginnings in the 1980s through to the present. The current exhibition contains over 150 works of art, including a broad array of her paintings, sculptures and drawings.