by Kay Curry
Northwest Asia Weekly
Posters showcasing the work of each finalist (Courtesy: Gallery 110)
David Haughton, an artist member at 110 Gallery, said: “Our mission has always been … we want to invite people who don’t have as many opportunities. Their art. “There’s a core group of mostly older white people, Houghton acknowledges the gallery’s origins. Enter the Emerging Artists Program, a second-round scholarship competition that gives artists the opportunity to benefit from gallery membership – and the opportunity for the gallery to expand its roster.
“We had the opportunity to bring in several new people at the same time, new to artists and new to galleries, providing a new perspective to a team that’s been together for a while,” said member artist JoEllen Wang. The program specifically looks for people of color kind of artist. This year, about 30 applicants were whittled down by the jury to 10 finalists, of which up to seven will be selected as winners of gallery memberships, career guidance and guaranteed exhibitions. “We wanted Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). We got BIPOC … they’re all good. They’re all talented,” Houghton said.
Gina Ariko’s artworks, such as “Teapot, 2021”, partly refer to family keepsakes (Courtesy: Gina Ariko)
This year’s finalists include several Asian heritages. Gina Ariko visits her jichan (grandfather) and bachan (grandmother) every other summer in Fukuoka, Japan. Since both were artists, “their house was full of art…it had a big impact on me.” Yuko knew she wanted to be an artist too, but thought she should wait until she felt safe. But the opposite is true. When the pandemic hit, Gina had more time, but she also lost the jichan with whom she had hoped to share her art, but was unable to visit her due to travel restrictions.
“Losing this opportunity really ignited something inside me…it drove me to pursue it.” Yuko’s submission to the competition can be viewed at www.ginaariko.comexpressing her desire to connect with her family and legacy during the pandemic isolation.
Julian Peña’s recent work, “Indulge in a Tycoon”. (Source: Julian Peña)
Julian Peña knew from an early age that art was his passion. Born in Japan, his mother moved to Tacoma when he was 12.
“That’s when I got interested in art.” Peña, a lover of video games, anime and Japanese woodblock prints, was immersed in the stories and visuals that influenced his art, but at first he was too shy to show.
“I often live in fantasy worlds, even as an adult.” The University of Washington School of Art and a supportive high school teacher boosted his confidence. “I’m sure that’s what I want to do.” Peña has a gallery, but it takes away the opportunity to create new art. The competition provides an opportunity to re-enter the competition.Some of Peña’s works for jurors are in www.jpenastudio.com.
“I love the expressions and emotions they convey. It’s very unique and steeped in Japanese history.”
Sophia Fang showing some of her postcards. (Source: Julian Peña)
Sophia Fang was born and raised in Washington. As part of her day job, she meets small business owners and celebrates their stories with marketing and watercolor postcards for storefronts. After the Atlanta shootings, she used her art to raise money for nonprofits on women’s issues in Asia. Combining art and work allows Fang to use her passion “as a catalyst for social change and creative action”. It helped her realize that “art is a form of self-expression, but it’s also an aspect of community building and collaboration.” Orientation jurors presented two works from her series “Nourir” (Nurture), which focuses on Seattle The surrounding “places of nourishment”, be it physical, mental or emotional, another is “a homage to the hyperlocality of Pioneer Square” and the International District of Chinatown.You can learn more about the parties at www.sophiafang.com.
Marie Okuma Johnston in front of one of her projects. (Source: Julian Peña)
Marie Okuma Johnston also has a history of service. Despite her dual American-Japanese citizenship, she lost touch with Japan until she was 7, when she spent the summers there. As her interest in her identity grew, so did her love of the visual arts. An accidental working connection led her to make merchandise for the Minidoka pilgrimage committee and for Minidoka itself. Along the way, she became fascinated by hanafuda, a small playing card “born of resistance” popular in Japan’s Prohibition and American incarceration camps. Johnston made a set of concentration camp-related scenes, inserted into a traditional Japanese scene, where she would place a guard tower.Johnston included several works on Japanese folklore in her application, some of which can be found at www.okumajohnston.com.
Brian Vu’s art combines repetition and improvisation. (Source: Julian Peña)
As a minimalist in art and life, Brian Vu realizes that his work is difficult to decipher compared to others.
“In general, I don’t feel like I’m represented in arts or crafts, so I feel like I’m constantly showing up.”
He grew up with his father’s art books, which contained “a lot of oriental art…mixed with some Renaissance and Impressionism”. He worried that he couldn’t make a living from art, but decided to see if he could “do what the hungry artist does.” Vu’s ceramics fuse his self-awareness as a Vietnamese-American with his views on capitalism and colonialism, and porcelain is a product that was misappropriated by Europeans.His work, found in www.bottegabv.comreferencing daily activities—putting a coffee cup in the same place repeatedly every day—but exploring the improvisation or spontaneity that people still retain when they “get from point A to point B.”
“I’m interested in correcting the current mix,” Wang said. “I assume/know that there are good artists out there who are black, indigenous and Chinese etc. The problem is they are not represented. I don’t think there is any group that doesn’t benefit from more diversity.”
The winners will be revealed on June 2, and the finalists’ work will be exhibited in Gallery 110 on July 2.
Kay can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
