A Passage Through Colors

8 July - 30 September 2020

A Passage Through Colors is a virtual exhibition featuring the abstract works of artists Kaz Orii, Mao Lizi, and Yokomizo Miyuki.

Each piece of work is steeped in exuberant strokes with rich, vivid colors, encapsulating the brilliance of movement with a delicate balance of control. The appropriate mix of strong colors to accentuate and lighter colors to soften gives each piece a unique sense of elegance and tranquillity. Featured prominently in many works of this exhibition is the artists’ freedom of expression simply by using colors.

Kaz Orii, graduated from Wako University in 1996 after which he went on to pursue his studies in France. Orii has held several exhibitions in Japan and Europe, including a solo exhibition at the Japanese Embassy in Belgium in 2006 and most recently, one in Tokyo. His paintings took root from Cubism more than 10 years ago when he first began his career as an artist. Since then his creations have grown and matured to soulful originality as he gradually discards representational imagery while continuing to subversively encompass contemporary concerns in many layers

Mao Lizi was born in Shanghai, China in 1950. Though he was initially a self-taught painter, Mao received a Master of Arts degree from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and now lives and works between Paris and Beijing. In 1991 he was awarded First Place at the International Art Exhibition in Paris. Working across multiple disciplines, Mao is known for his paintings, design work, and architecture. He is also known as a pioneer of the Chinese avant-garde movement. His work has been exhibited widely in China and other countries, including France, the US, and Portugal. He’s well known for the simplicity of his paintings, which look like magnified, inky dots. They usually highlight the space surrounding the painting, drawing the viewer into a kind of meditative contemplation.

Yokomizo Miyuki's work begins with a simple process. Consisting of extreme repetition, a visual event. It exploits ultimate visual capabilities, recalling and arousing uncertainty about what is being looked at. Repetition in quantity, such as geometric patterns, spherical shapes, and vertical and horizontal lines is essential. The artist prefers industrial, rather than natural materials, due to growing up in the 60’s, in downtown Tokyo. Her aesthetic is defined by this. She wishes to engage viewers in the ambience of vast, “multiple-simplicity”.