Personal Statement
My concern as an artist is to express my inner world. To me, the act of painting is a constant search for where I am from, who I am and where my soul is going in the same way that Gaugin searched for the "original man." Besides my quest as an "original man," I find my personal roots in the tradition of Japanese culture and art including Zen philosophy, which combines with my love for music and literature.
Born and raised in Japan and living in the U.S. for over twenty years, I feel the need to synthesize Western and Eastern elements in my art. I feel a kinship with American abstract artists such as Frank Stella, Richard Diebenkorn and Willem de Kooning. However, I give more order to my work as my Japanese predecessors did in their traditional artwork. My use of line is also adapted from my predecessors. I use color to express my emotions and musical sounds and build up layers of textures to give richness to the work.
As for my destination, the question of how high our spirit can soar is of primary importance. I believe the answer is hidden in the statement made by Joseph Campbell as he writes, " it then occurred to me that outer space is within us as much as the laws of space are within us; outer and inner space are the same." (The Inner Reaches of Outer Space) The night sky and cosmic phenomena have always been mysterious and wondrous in my imagination. I now try to utilize the cosmos' color, aura and circular movement in my work. Allowing my mood, rhythm and energy to contribute to my art making, I aim to reveal the spiritually mysterious in my work.
Copyright © 2005 Kiyoko Sakai. All rights reserved.
