Ushio Shinohara: Drawings and sculptures

July 9-August 20, 2022
Gallery open noon to 7:00 pm on opening day

"While I’m taking a morning walk in the park along the East River in Dumbo, Brooklyn, my imagination arises by watching people who gather there and white waves caused by water taxis speeding along the river, then I draw in my small sketch book. Not only these moments but also Laocoön, night of Silver Temple in Kyoto, the Animal scroll of twelfth century in Japan, etc., are my source of imagination.

"The space of impression born from the surface of drawings filled with whirling of curved lines of color, ink and pen and overflowing splash of paint—these are the things I want to share with you!"

— Ushio Shinohara, June 26, 2022

East River Park, 2022, 18" x 24"

Ushio Shinohara (nicknamed "Gyu-chan"), is a Japanese Neo-Dadaist artist who has lived and worked in the United States since 1969. His parents, a tanka poet and Japanese painter, instilled in him a love for artists such as Cézanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin.

Known for his boxing paintings, which are artifacts of his performances, Ushio works in several mediums including painting, printmaking, drawing and sculpture. His bright and frequently oversized work has exhibited at prestigious institutions internationally, including the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art; Centre Georges Pompidou; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Japan Society, New York; the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Leo Castelli Gallery; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seoul; the Dallas Museum of Art and the Tate Modern, among others.

Ushio and his wife of 42 years, Noriko, are most recently known from the Academy Award-nominated documentary Cutie and the Boxer. This documentary explores the history of the couple's often tumultuous marriage and their lives as artists.

Pounding Steamed Rice into Cake-Like Dough which Turned to a Snake, 2022, cardboard, aluminum wire, handmade plastic tile and resin, 22" x 16" x 18"