Gallery NYCoo presents it's 5th exhibition with works on paper by Hana Asami. The works are mixed media on paper rather than drawings, representing figurative subjects of the same generation as the artist herself.  They are executed in simplified color and composition with a highly refined illustrative skill and sensibility.  They are indeed a joy to observe.

Asami's twenty years of background in illustration and design may shed light on a phase that those of her generation often undergo nurtured in animation and computer graphics, and this artist's excitement in surpassing this phase is apparent.   Although her generation was baptized by C.G. and anime, Asami is among those who refused to indulge themselves in this surge, and instead insisted on making inquiries as to how to emerge from its confines by thinking and rethinking what to do next.  

She recalls asking herself the question "how can I express my own imagery?"   This show reveals what she has achieved in this search.  This artistic conclusion was reached with the eyes and sensibility attained through the C.G. and anime world and was based on her traditional up bringing and education in Japanese-style painting.

The process which she describes as "arrival to my own expression" is pen and ink drawings scanned into a Mac, printed out using a pigment jet ink printer onto mulberry paper, which is then hand-colored with acrylic gouache.  These steps allow the artist to see her images objectively and at the same time to sort out the indispensable from the dispersible.  The effect of these steps results transcends expectations and catches both the artist and viewers by surprise.

In establishing one's own technique, the artist can next produce a body of work in which to become satiated.  By doing so, this allows the artist to see the next horizon. The works in this show are not just the end result of Asami's search but a beginning to the next destination.

Gallery writer: Hitoshi Nakazato
Translation : Sumiko Takeda