Flowing Reflections
by Miya Ando
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Dear Miya, Thank you for taking the time to connect with us. What inspired you to work on the Ephemeral series of paintings? What’s the intended effect you’d like these works to have on the viewer? I’m interested in creating experiential works which engage the viewer and call attention to the fleeting qualities of light as a way to investigate time and temporality. |
Photo credit: Leonard Fong |
The metal paintings are reflective and shift as the viewer walks around the pieces. The paintings also act as a barometer of the environment and lighting conditions of the present moment. They look different in the morning as opposed to evening, in summer light as opposed to winter light.
Sui Getsu Ka (Water Moon Flower) is a perfect title for your painting. Does the language itself serve as a starting point for some of your works such as this painting?
Sui Getsu Ka is a Zen word which has inspired a series of works that is ongoing. I’m influenced by philosophical notions and the vernacular of nature.
Your color palette is rich, but it seems that the shades of blue dominate. Is there a particular reason for that choice or not quite?
I do like working with blues. I’m interested in the innumerable shades of colors from the perspective of perception.
Water, air, and nature are always in focus in many of your paintings and sculptures. How would you define this connection between your art and nature with all its components?
I employ the vocabulary of nature in my work as a starting place of interconnectivity.
All beings understand and are effected by nature in exactly the same way and for this universal quality I’m attracted to this type of vernacular.
Your works on paper are really delicate looking pieces that transcend themes. What can you tell us about the process of how your ideas come to life using paper as the main material?
I select the most appropriate material for each artwork. The silver leaf on paper began with the idea of ‘Gekkou’ which in Japanese means ‘Moonlight’. I began this series maybe 7 or 8 years ago as I was interested in moonlight as reflected light; a soft light which is the reflected light of the sun. Silver leaf has a subtle and quiet luminosity and for this reason it was the most fitting medium.
Sui Getsu Ka (Water Moon Flower) is a perfect title for your painting. Does the language itself serve as a starting point for some of your works such as this painting?
Sui Getsu Ka is a Zen word which has inspired a series of works that is ongoing. I’m influenced by philosophical notions and the vernacular of nature.
Your color palette is rich, but it seems that the shades of blue dominate. Is there a particular reason for that choice or not quite?
I do like working with blues. I’m interested in the innumerable shades of colors from the perspective of perception.
Water, air, and nature are always in focus in many of your paintings and sculptures. How would you define this connection between your art and nature with all its components?
I employ the vocabulary of nature in my work as a starting place of interconnectivity.
All beings understand and are effected by nature in exactly the same way and for this universal quality I’m attracted to this type of vernacular.
Your works on paper are really delicate looking pieces that transcend themes. What can you tell us about the process of how your ideas come to life using paper as the main material?
I select the most appropriate material for each artwork. The silver leaf on paper began with the idea of ‘Gekkou’ which in Japanese means ‘Moonlight’. I began this series maybe 7 or 8 years ago as I was interested in moonlight as reflected light; a soft light which is the reflected light of the sun. Silver leaf has a subtle and quiet luminosity and for this reason it was the most fitting medium.
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Recently you were the special guest of a gallery talk at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, GA, where you had your solo exhibition titled “Temporal”. Can you tell us something more about this event?
The exhibition ‘Temporal’ is an investigation into our relationship to time and perception. I put forth a suspended installation of redwood trees along with large-scale cloud paintings and an installation created with Shou Sugi Ban (Charred wood).
It was such an honor to be able to create new works that were site-specific and a continuation of the body of work called ‘Godai’ (Elements).
In the gallery talk at the museum, I spoke primarily about the interconnectivity of all things and the idea that the fundamental nature of reality is that all constituent forms that make up the universe are temporary.
Your Wikipedia bio identifies you as an American artist of half-Japanese and half-Russian-American heritage and a 16th-generation descendant of Bizen sword maker Ando Yoshiro Masakatsu. How do your heritage and blood lineage factor in your artistic identity?
I’m a person of mixed race and my experience has been influenced by both the east (Japan) as well as the west (California).
I began my interest in materials starting from metals because I was influenced by the fact that my heritage is connected to sword smiths in Japan. Ultimately my investigation into the mixed-race or multi-ethnic, multicultural identity led me to my interest in the vocabulary of universality.
What’s your attitude about being a New York artist with a studio in Long Island City knowing that gentrification is an ongoing topic of discussion?
I love New York, it’s a privilege to have a studio and work and create in New York. Gentrification is a reality that occurs.
Do you visit places of public art where your works are exhibited? Have you happened to hear people’s raw reactions to your works?
I’ve been present for the openings of all of my public projects and experienced reactions of the public to the work.
Often, I visit one of my favorite works, a small piece of The World Trade Center steel recovered from Ground Zero which I made into a memorial sculpture. This is a found object that I modified, it is in front of a Fire Station in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
What are the most overpowering feelings you have experienced lately and have you planned to let any of it show in your ongoing work?
Lately I am troubled by the state of disparateness in the world and the suffering associated. It has become imperative for me to find vocabulary that investigates the bridges between people; the things that connect instead of separate us.
I find solace in creating calm imagery in the name of putting forth tranquility and quietude these days.
The exhibition ‘Temporal’ is an investigation into our relationship to time and perception. I put forth a suspended installation of redwood trees along with large-scale cloud paintings and an installation created with Shou Sugi Ban (Charred wood).
It was such an honor to be able to create new works that were site-specific and a continuation of the body of work called ‘Godai’ (Elements).
In the gallery talk at the museum, I spoke primarily about the interconnectivity of all things and the idea that the fundamental nature of reality is that all constituent forms that make up the universe are temporary.
Your Wikipedia bio identifies you as an American artist of half-Japanese and half-Russian-American heritage and a 16th-generation descendant of Bizen sword maker Ando Yoshiro Masakatsu. How do your heritage and blood lineage factor in your artistic identity?
I’m a person of mixed race and my experience has been influenced by both the east (Japan) as well as the west (California).
I began my interest in materials starting from metals because I was influenced by the fact that my heritage is connected to sword smiths in Japan. Ultimately my investigation into the mixed-race or multi-ethnic, multicultural identity led me to my interest in the vocabulary of universality.
What’s your attitude about being a New York artist with a studio in Long Island City knowing that gentrification is an ongoing topic of discussion?
I love New York, it’s a privilege to have a studio and work and create in New York. Gentrification is a reality that occurs.
Do you visit places of public art where your works are exhibited? Have you happened to hear people’s raw reactions to your works?
I’ve been present for the openings of all of my public projects and experienced reactions of the public to the work.
Often, I visit one of my favorite works, a small piece of The World Trade Center steel recovered from Ground Zero which I made into a memorial sculpture. This is a found object that I modified, it is in front of a Fire Station in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
What are the most overpowering feelings you have experienced lately and have you planned to let any of it show in your ongoing work?
Lately I am troubled by the state of disparateness in the world and the suffering associated. It has become imperative for me to find vocabulary that investigates the bridges between people; the things that connect instead of separate us.
I find solace in creating calm imagery in the name of putting forth tranquility and quietude these days.