9-27 October 2012
Ayumi Yamaguchi
Collage artist Ayumi Yamaguchi is currently showing at the Caelum Gallery in New York City.
Cubism gave birth to collage, which is not surprising because cut pieces of paper are often rectangular. It is natural that collage should give rise to new offshoots of cubism even a hundred years after the pioneering collage artists were working. Yamaguchi brings to the medium Japanese precision that balances with aggressive hard-edged abstraction in a cubist vein. The artist takes advantage of the great variety of surfaces that collage can provide with diverse materials and she puts them to use in dynamic compositions.
Collage artist generally are low keyed in their use of colour, but Yamaguchi feels that bright or rich colors are appropriate for the vigorous movement in her works. Classic collage often dealt with printed mater, mechanically produced type, and although Yamaguchi uses printed matter, she is sparing with it, as though it is an occasional sign along a stretch of highway to point one in the right direction.
A challenge in collage is to achieve complex compositions without their becoming too busy. Yamaguchi succeeds well in animating her works with numerous exciting passages while keeping control of their overall impact. The artist avoids the pitfall of repetitiveness and the works are varied and compelling.
(from the gallery’s press materials)
INFORMATION
Caelum Gallery
Suite 315
508-526 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001 USA
(212) 924-4161
Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 11AM to 6PM
and by appointment
Image:
Reborn on a Full Moon Night
by Ayumi Yamaguchi
24.8″ x 36.2″
mixed media
2012