Site Search

Get Luxury News by Email

Live the Good Life

Categories more

Sections

Other

Audain Art Museum presents a mesmerizing visual experience

Be the first to review this item!

#art #fineart #paintings #artgallery
Published
05/28/2023 by

Opening on June 24, 2023, Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage features Ikeda's meticulously detailed pen-and-ink drawings that are filled with astonishing images. Through his everyday observations, this Japanese artist renders entangled fragments to create a spectacular whole that prompts viewers to look deeply into his visual expression.

Curated by Kiriko Watanabe, the Audain Art Museum's Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Curator, this is Ikeda's first solo retrospective in North America showcasing over sixty works from national and international collections. Flowers from the Wreckage includes Foretoken (2008), Meltdown (2013) and Rebirth (2013-16), a selection of Ikeda's large-scale drawings that relate to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake; the most devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power disaster in the country's recorded history.  

"Ikeda's composition expresses the vastness of nature on a paper surface. At first glance, viewers see natural beauty depicted in his work. Upon stepping closer, viewers will recognize thousands of tiny details, layers of visual messages, actions and playfulness culminated in his expression," explains Watanabe. Within each work, Ikeda starts by drawing something small, like a flower or a tree, that builds towards his overall vision. "Viewers are often mesmerized by the tremendous amount of work that goes into his creations. It is an earthshattering visual experience that takes us on a journey of ambiguous times and places," says Watanabe.

Ikeda's symbolically rich images evoke both familiarity and foreboding of potential disaster. Central to this artist's practice is a metaphor of human resilience and the ability to rise above devastating situations when it appears impossible. "As long as our planet continues to revolve, Ikeda's works are bound to make people question and think," says the Museum's founder, Yoshiko Karasawa.

As a special feature from June 15 to August 30, 2023, Manabu Ikeda will be the AAM's first-ever artist in residence. A studio will be set up in the AAM's architecturally stunning Upper Galleries, where visitors will have an opportunity to observe the process of Ikeda making drawings and interact with him during open studio hours.

Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage is presented by the Audain Foundation with the assistance of major sponsor, April 1 Foundation and supporting sponsor, the Michael & Inna O'Brian Family Foundation. This exhibition is also generously supported by Susan I. Roop and the Japan Foundation, as well as Fairmont Chateau Whistler, hotel partner; Hemlock Printers, printing partner; and Total Transport, transportation partner.

Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage will be on display in the AAM's Tom and Teresa Gautreau Galleries from June 24 to October 9, 2023. A full colour exhibition catalogue featuring essays by Kiriko Watanabe and comments by Manabu Ikeda will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop.

For more information on the exhibition, related engagement activities and to purchase special exhibition items, visit audainartmuseum.com.

Comments