Itsuko Kiyokawa

Growing up in Japan, I have been exposed to the philosophy that we should respect nature.
We are told that there is an invisible power in mountains, trees, water or even in the sound of wind.
We are also taught to live with nature in harmony.
My deep respect for nature has had a definitive influence on my life as much as on my art:
Most of my visual motifs are derived from images of ever-changing forms of nature.
When I wander in nature, colors, shapes, or compositions of nature, even the smell of the air around me talk to my spiritual core.
My eyes perceive a tree or shadow as they exist in the real world,
but my subconscious wishes to address the invisible reality of life.
It is here that I recognize the ephemeral essence of human existence.
Thus all of the images I see in reality and my inner reflections on humans are transferred to color and shapes and interwoven together into a canvas.

1994 MFA Long Island University, NY, USA1987 BFA Osaka Kyoiku Univesity, Osaka, Japan,

Selected One Person Shows
2011, 2012 Spectrum Gallery, Osaka, Japan
2011 Dorado Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2010, 2009 Gallery at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Osaka , Japan
2007 Mie Center for the Arts, Mie, Japan
1999 Gallery Shirakawa, Kyoto, Japan
1998 Nichinen Housing Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1997 Gallery Den, Osaka, Japan
1997 Gallery Shirakawa, Kyoto, Japan
1995 West Harbor Galery, Oyster Bay, NY, USA

Selected Group Shows and juried shows
2014 Winter Luxe", Hankyu Department Store, Osaka, Japan
2013 HANART", Iami Town Center, Nara, Japan
2012 Spring Fling", WAH Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2011 Living with Art", Spectrum Gallery, Osaka, Japan
2010 Sosaku Hyogensha", The Art Complex, Tokyo, Japan
2010 Water", Galleri Geitodden, Forde, Norway
2010 Hemispheres": "Views of contemporary prints", Prince Takamado Gallery, Embassy of Canada, Tokyo, Japan
2009, 2010 The UK-Japan Artists Exchange Group Exhibition, Lennox Gallery, London, UK
2008 Collective Contemporary Art Exhibition by Japanese Artists, Opera Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2008 Busan International Environment Art Festival, Ulsukdo Art Center, Busan, Korea
2007 Art Forum Mie, Mie Center for the Arts, Mie, Japan
2006 The 58th Mie Prefecture Exhibition, Nagoya City ...