PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Contact:                Jane Sauer, Owner/Director,
                                 Jane Sauer Gallery
                                 652 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe, NM 
                                 jsauer@jsauergallery.com
                                 505-995-8513
Website:                 www.jsauergallery.com
Hours:                    Monday – Sunday 10 am - 5:00 pm
Exhibition:             Eri Imamura – Bridging Traditions    
Dates:                     March 28 – April 15, 2008
Opening
reception:              March 28th, artist will be present

 

Santa Fe, NM – JANE SAUER GALLERY presents an exhibition of fine beaded art by Japanese artist, Eri Imamura.

Eri Imamura is a Japanese artist who lives in Tokyo, Japan.  While a student in Japan, she began to realize that Japanese are losing their traditions due to increasing western influence on their culture.  She says, “People in Tokyo do not have time to question their identities as Japanese.  I have been seeking ways to get back to our own cultural values.”  She became interested in studying other peoples who had the same concerns, and this brought her to the US to study the ways in which Native Americans are maintaining their heritage in the modern world.  After graduating from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Imamura traveled to the US to study Native American culture and art at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

 As a fiber artist, Imamura became fascinated by the beading techniques she saw at IAIA, and Kiowa artist Teri Greeves was highly influential as her teacher. After mastering the techniques and receiving her Associates of Arts Degree graduating with Highest Honors, she returned to Japan to explore innovative ways of combining beading with Japanese design and textiles. The work in this exhibit draws on imagery popular in the remarkable Japanese tattoo tradition, which dates back over a thousand years. The seminal piece in the show, “MATSURI-THE FESTIVAL: JAPANESE TATTOO COSTUME”, is a black silk kimono embellished with elaborate tattoo derived images of stylized flowers, waves, tigers, and fish. Most of the forms she beads are based on historic special clothing worm in festivals or “Maturi”, such as clogs, kimonos, cuffs and purses. Another piece in the show, “TABI MOCCASIN: CROSS-CULTURAL FOOTWEAR, ” are elaborately embellished typical Japanese tabi or indoor shoes. Mt. Fuji, the central image, reminds the viewer of the shared Japanese and Native American strong connection to the land. Imamura’s designs are symbolic expressions of various aspects of spirituality.  

Imamura’s artistic message extends beyond questioning her own culture’s identity: “By combining both Japanese and Native American cultures, I would like to offer opportunities of cross-cultural conversations to the public. There are numerous peoples who share some commonality, both spiritual and humanistic. I am hoping that by discovering the common humanity in multiple cultures we can celebrate our similarities as well as our differences.  I also hope that cross-cultural conversations will lead to a deeper understanding and peace between cultures around the world.“