Ink People show features Asian and Pacific Islander artists
Times-Standard
Eureka, California
April 4, 2014
EUREKA — For the first time since 1994, a group show will feature the work of local artists with Asian and Pacific Islander backgrounds. Sponsored by the Ink People Center for the Arts, “Hungry Ghosts: Pan Asian and Pacific Islander Perspectives” opens Saturday with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. during Arts Alive! at the Brenda Tuxford Gallery in Old Town.
“We’re excited to celebrate the work of more than a dozen Humboldt artists who share Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry, but who express their creativity in very different mediums and styles,” said participating artist Annette Makino.
Robert Sataua, a member of the gallery committee organizing the show, said, “People have an expectation of what it means to be Asian, of what a Samoan man like myself should be, or what a Japanese woman should be.
“This show allows us to express and define ourselves without any expectations, and will give people some insight into the real and diverse experiences of people with Asian Pacific Islander roots.”
Coincidentally, the show will include three sets of sisters among the participating artists. These include collage artist and painter Margaret Uemura and her sisters, sculptor Katie Uemura and jewelry maker Laurie Aiko Lynch; haiku poet and sumi ink painter Annette Makino and her sister, clay painter Yoshi Makino; and ceramic artists Jennifer Be and Catherine Be.
Other artists confirmed include mixed-media artist Amy Uyeki, Japanese tattoo artist Brian Kaneko, painter Jessica Afable, artisan Leah Sachiko and Robert Sataua, a printmaker and painter.
At the opening, Felicia Yang will screen her video documentary about the local Hmong experience, created as a Marz project through the Ink People.
“Hungry Ghosts” takes its name from a festival practiced in many different traditions throughout Asia. The overarching theme of these ceremonies is to remember and pay respect to the dead. In the same way, this exhibition is intended as a tribute to traditional art forms throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands that continue to be practiced and interpreted by artists today.
The Brenda Tuxford Gallery is located upstairs at 325 Second St. in Eureka. Regular hours for the gallery are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, contact thebrendatuxfordgallery@gmail.com or call Robert at 954-8338.