SEIZAN Gallery New York is pleased to present the exhibition, Fresh Air, featuring works by Izumi Haruomi, Yasuko Hasumura, and Étienne Krähenbühl. 

Although the world remains awash in confusion and devastation in so many ways, hope is growing that there will be an end to the prolonged difficulties the global pandemic has brought to us. Strong social power is gathering to make the "new normal" much better than it was before the pandemic. At this unique and important time of transition, we will present works by three artists who engage deeply and variously with the forces of Nature. Their works offer a sense of calm, groundedness and strength, inspiring us to move forward with optimism. 

Yasuko Hasumura (b. 1958) manipulates Japanese washi paper and sumi ink in unique abstract expressions which capture air, light, moments in time, onto canvas. Greatly influenced by an encounter with Noh theatre she describes as a “soul-trembling experience,” Hasumura strived to recreate the experience onto canvas. This led her to experiment with traditional materials of Nihonga. Hasumura’s attitude towards production reflects what she learned from Ufan: be aware and focus on the relationship between the body and materials.  

Haruomi Izumi (b.1979)  is a successor of “Nihonga,” the Japanese-style of painting practiced for centuries. The word Nihonga was developed in the late nineteenth century as the opposite or counter word, to the word Yo-ga, or Western painting. Characteristics of Nihonga are: use of traditional materials such as mineral pigments, a binder made of animal glue, washi paper, and subject matter such as nature and animals. Izumi studied Nihonga at Tokyo University of the Arts. His signature works, including Yukoku (The Scarlet Hour) and Sokoku (The Blue Hour), depart from traditional Nihonga and combine surreal color with obsessively repetitive patterns of trees. In this way, Izumi creates deeply textured scenes that encompass their surroundings and engulf the viewer with their rich aura.

Étienne Krähenbühl (b. 1953) is one of the most celebrated living artists in Switzerland. After studying metal alloys and superplastic metals, Krähenbühl started to create large scale sculptures examining the intersection of science and poetry, monumentality, gravity and weightlessness. The intention is to “test the limits of materials and bring forth movements and sounds from the depths of the earth,” according to the art critic Françoise Jaunin.

SEE AVAILABLE WORKS ON ARTSY