Gateway: Japan at the Torrance Art Museum

It's easy to overlook small community museums and art galleries. The common image that many art enthusiasts have of such local small venues is one of being a location in which community amateurs get to display their earnest but unsophisticated aesthetic expressions. It's where the Watercolor Club holds their annual exhibition. The Torrance Art Museum is "Evidence A" in disproving this elitist misconception.

Gateway: Japan is a compelling show with an impressive range of pieces. The show's premise to to give a contextual comparison between contemporary Japanese and Japanese-American artists. With 21 different artists on display, there is plenty to assess and consider. Overall, I did a decent job of discerning the American from the Japanese, but a few pieces totally threw me. The globalized nature of contemporary aesthetic trends and influences has led to a fascinating synergy that transcends any attempt at localization.

Here are a few pieces that especially caught my attention:

Sumo Wrestling in Clay, Jocelyn Foye. Performance with clay, rubber casting artifact.

This is an intriguing work. At the exhibit's opening, a Sumo wrestling demonstration was performed upon a clay ground. After the event, Foye made a rubber cast of the impressions left upon the clay. The result is an engaging work that captures the energy and dynamic nature of the wrestling. My photo doesn't do it justice.

The Lookout, Macha Suzuki. Mixed Media.

This piece made me LOL. It has a serious pose, position and title that contrast with the whimsy of its appearance, provoking both amusement and confusion from the viewer. An engagingly ridiculous little figure.

Capitoline Donkey, Nobuhito Nishigawara. Clay, Iron, Bronze and Acrylic.

Another humorous work. No Romulus or Remus here! I'm a sucker for Classical references. ;-)

Yeah, I could go on and on, but you really ought to check it out in person. Here's a link to the Torrance Art Museum website.

And here are links to the websites of:

Jocelyn Foye

Nobuhito Nishigawara

Macha Suzuki

I highly recommend Gateway: Japan.

Enjoy!!!