The Art of Sushi and Sake
YASUNARI NAKAGOMI - Artist Memory of a Landscape
By Nancy Uyemura
Yasunari Nakagomi was born and lives in Japan but is currently here in Los Angeles as recipient of a grant from the Japanese government. He will live and work here for a year.
He is currently showing at LA Artcore at Union Center for the Arts.
Nakagomi paints what he recalls and calls them landscapes, but if you study his work it goes much deeper than just your average ‘sky above, earth below’ kind of landscape. He works from memory and as a result draws on all of one’s sensual recollections. A work might make one remember the coolness of an autumn sky or the musky smell of the earth with flavors of burgundy or truffle, mint or chocolate. Another piece may evoke memories of surf and sand and quiet walks with someone you love. Our environment effects us just as we effect our environment and it is this magical interaction that makes Nakagomi’s landscapes so meaningful and new, each time you view them.
Like many other Japanese artists, Yasunari was deeply influenced by his childhood memories, growing up in the countryside of Japan. It is these visual memories that emerge in many of his paintings and touch the audience with a sense that they too have become part of the process – his process of creating this work of art and capturing a moment in time. The work shows layers of paint that - like waves of time wash over the landscape of our lives creating a depth of experience that becomes unique and special for each viewer, apart from the experience of the artist. Life is about energy and change and a flow that is in constant motion, different speeds, different levels, different vibrations. Nakagomi’s paintings express his experience, and we see the combining of Eastern meditation and Buddhist philosophy and Western art training in a traditional landscape format. The artist has combined the two and created a Zen-like window into an inner landscape of one’s memory. His work will be on exhibit through the 30th of December.
L.A. Artcore is located at 120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Gallery hours are Wednesday to Sunday 12-5 pm. A visit to the gallery and experiencing Yasunari Nakagomi’s work will be a wonderful way to end the year in a quiet reflective mood, preparing you for an energetic and blessed New Year.
The force behind L.A. Artcore is Lydia Takeshita and for those of you who don’t know her, you should. She has been a vibrant and amazing inspiration in the art community for many decades and is still going strong. People say it must be love, and that may be the only explanation because she is tireless and committed and has encouraged so many artists and if that isn’t love, I don’t know what is. It is because of this love that L.A. Artcore has become the icon it is today. Artcore occupies a unique place in the fabric of the art world of Los Angeles. It is unique in many ways, but most importantly it presents, preserves, and advocates all professional artists – emerging, mid-career, and the long forgotten who have been detoured in to other professions. Artcore, above all is a place where the creative process is valued and where artists receive support in their careers.
Since 1979, LA Artcore has had one objective: to find, to expose and to promote artists whose work represents the best of local and international contemporary art and to make the works of these artists available to the public in two Los Angeles galleries as well as museums and galleries worldwide. Within this larger context, LA Artcore focuses on promoting art that captures the multicultural spirit of the Los Angeles community. The success of L.A. Artcore has rested on nurturing the concept of an open dialogue; a dialogue between artist and art lover; a relationship between artist and community; a symbiosis between the artist and the world. With a strong presence in Little Tokyo, Artcore continues its commitment to community service, serving as an open laboratory for the education and presentation of art and ideas. It is because of this strong commitment and the continuing passion that Lydia Takeshita brings to our world that artists like Nakagomi are able to exhibit and have dialog with our community here in Los Angeles. We are all truly blessed and grateful that Lydia, through LA Artcore, has made available this exhibition, as well as countless others, and encourage you to come to Little Tokyo and see it.
Happy Holidays to all and may your new year be filled with good art, good friends and of course good sushi and sake.
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