After Surrealism exhausted all of its possible permutations, it reemerged in Japan as amine and bounced back elsewhere as a delicate version of Pop with a punk twist.
Born and raised in Japan, Toshi Asai has the troubling delicacy down cold. She draws madonnas from a tattoo parlor, outer-space Virgin Marys and their animal companions.
The Virgin of the Donkey (Untitled (donkey) 11 X 8.5 inches) blows bubbles with her hair. The Madonna with Monkey (The Engagement, 14 X 17 inches) allows base desire to perch on her knee, but she’s nevertheless tuned to celestial things.
Working in oils, Asai plays with the suggestion of depths, populating her surfaces with greater and lesser beings emerging and receding within an orchestrated flow. Opening Wednesday night, her current exhibit at Joe Bar is all pencil on paper, which highlights the supple rigor of of her line.
Through August.
Isn’t that her husband, Ben Beres, sitting on her knee? Didn’t you notice the resemblance, or were you being tactful?
I’m wondering what it says about galleries in Seattle that you review bar shows.
Hey Nancy, its a good show and its at a coffee shop/restaurant. Are you implying that Regina can only look at art in “galleries” or “museums” ???
The items that can be made of silk always excite me! It is absolutely one of the most elegant materials and I don’t think there is a single silk garment known to human kind that i don’t adore. Thanks for your Toshi Asai: pencil as silk – Another Bouncing Ball page! It gave a true silk connoisseur the perfect fix!