Ended: Nov 1, 2019
Catamount Arts is pleased to present Sachiko Akiyama, Terra Incognita, an exhibition of sculpture and prints on view in the Fried Family Gallery from September 6-November 1, 2019. A wine and cheese reception will be held on Saturday, September 28 from 5-6:30 pm, with remarks by the artist at 5:30 pm. All are welcome to attend.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION: Sachiko Akiyama attributes the quiet and reserve of her work to an eastern sensibility, citing a ”belief in attaining knowledge not through action, but through silence, introspection, and passivity.” The hand carved wooden figures featured in Terra Incognita—some portraits of family, some self-portraits—exemplify this introspective approach. “I’ve always been interested in making something psychological,” she remarks. Using concrete materials to explore spiritual meaning, Akiyama allows viewers to interpret her pieces in multiple ways by entering a dream-like world in which more happens beneath the surface that might first appear.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Born in New York to Japanese parents, artist Sachiko Akiyama graduated with a BA in Studio Art from Amherst College, an MFA in Sculpture from Boston University, and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Exhibiting both nationally and internationally, Sachiko Akiyama’s work has appeared in group exhibitions at the Center for Contemporary Art, Rockland, ME; Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI; Field Projects, NYC; Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY; and numerous other venues. She has enjoyed solo exhibitions at the Akino Fuku Museum in Hamatsu, Japan; Babson College, Wellesley, MA; Brandeis University, Waltham, MA; Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA; and Nielsen Gallery, Boston, MA. Among her many honors, Akiyama is a Joan Mitchell Award recipient; received grants from the Artist Resource Trust at the Berkshire Taconic Foundation; was an ICA Foster Prize Nominee; a recipient of a Brother Thomas Award from the Boston Foundation, as well as numerous Blanche E. Coleman Awards from the Mellon Foundation. She is the 2018 recipient of the Piscataqua Region Artist Advancement Grant. Her work appears in numerous private collections, as well as the permanent collections of Decordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA and Gordon College, Wenham, MA. Formerly on the faculty at Boston University, Sachiko Akiyama now teaches at UNH-Durham and lives and works in Portsmouth, NH. For more information about the artist and her work, see sachikoakiyama.com.