Following is gallery hours for the month of November. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to your visiting at AG Gallery. Our current exhibition is “Half Human” by a Japanese contemporary artist Natsumi Goldfish, on view through November 25, 2018.
November 5~November 11: Wed-Sun 12-7PM (Monday&Tuesday Closed)
November 12~November 18 : Mon&Thurs-Sun 12-7PM (Tuesday&Wednedsay Closed)
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 3, 2018 6-8PM
AG Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition “Half Human” by a Japanese contemporary artist Natsumi Goldfish, opening on November 3, 2018.
Half-human figures in Natsumi Goldfish’s works are a metaphor of invisible borderlines between humans and other lives on the earth that separate and connect them from each other. In half-human figures, Natsumi Goldfish depicts human nature that is within individual human beings. Some human-ness in human beings are only seen when we are around nature and other lives, while such human nature might be subtle and minor in today’s our society, they are fundamental that initially defined humans from other lives. Natsumi Goldfish is interested in relationships that humans uniquely create between human beings, with nature, and with other lives. By making half human figures, Natsumi Goldfish tries to observe and rediscover and visualize the fundamental characteristics of human beings, and identify the borderline between humans and non-humans.
“We are always humans as a whole and as individuals. What is human being anyway? Is original human-ness of human being still present? It seems like humans are trying to erase some part of human-ness of individual human beings from our gene, in order to develop an ideal human society or human as a whole. If a human society is formed by the humans, by discarding or neglecting some basic human nature in our gene, we are also going to retrogress the society in the end, aren’t we? We are always half human since the moment when we are born, but perhaps the other half depends on each of us.”-Natsumi Goldfish
Picking Flowers by Natsumi Goldfish, Oil on Canvas, 2017
Humans are highly social creatures and for centuries we have been making societies from the earliest band societies: hunter-and-gatherer societies, to agricultural societies, to contemporary societies today. Human existence has been sustained by the communal living. Human as a whole has developed and improved with technology, science, and economic systems, that have made our individual life easy and convenient. Individual humans, on the other hand, have not changed so much, nor improved the inner abilities or physical appearances in any drastic way since we have identified ourselves as human. As society developed, the roles and values of humans have changed. Humans have lost the opportunities to utilize such inborn qualities of human beings. What individual humans have been offering like imagination, curiosity, ideas, and craftsmanship seem to be not essential anymore to live. Without one of us, without you or me, the society will function and will improve no problem. The most of roles available in the society is some kind of consumers. Perhaps we should have never take for granted our ability to imagine, or to be human, even if the society that does everything for us. Human’s inner abilities and senses have been less practiced and stagnant. As an evidence, we used to do only things that we know how or used tools that we can make, but today we do everything we do not know. Our lives are convenient with the science and technology that offered by the society, but we do not know how to make them nor the fundamental structure of them. We know how to grow plants from seeds bought at a store but many of us do not know how to harvest seeds from plants. Many of us rely on medications to recover from sickness, but we cannot make nor know the detail ingredients of the white pills prescribed by physicians. Most of us know how to use a smart phone, but we cannot make one from scratch. We can turn on a light but we cannot make a lighting system or a light bulb, moreover the electricity is sold and supplied from other source. Just like humans have been modifying nature and other animals, I feel like humans societies are trying to modify some part of human nature. Something might be fading away from our gene even this moment.
ABOUT ARTIST
Natsumi Goldfish is a contemporary Japanese artist based in New York City. Goldfish grew up in the fringe of Tokyo, a place of between of all, where nature and urban culture, and many different elements coexisted. The environment inspired and educated her to believe in pluralism, or something close to the idea of being between and both. In 2011 she moved to the United States. In 2013, she received her B. A. in Art from Tyler School of Art. Goldfish primary works with oil painting. Her creation is based on her interest in conscious and unconscious human behaviors seen in the history as well as in her ordinary life.
Official Website: www.natsumigoldfish.com
The exhibition closing date of current exhibition “Flower Offerings” by Sirikul pattachote is now extended to Sunday, September 7th, 2018. We would like to make sure that everyone has a chance to visit us for the current show with extension.
Original Art book “Flower Offerings”, which includes a collection of Pattachote’s painting images and texts specially made for this exhibition, is published and now available at AG Gallery. Please visit AG Gallery or contact us at info@aboutglamour.net for inquire about the book.
September 1, 2018 ~ September 30, 2018
Opening Reception: September 1, 2018 6-8PM
Music Performance by Singer Songwriter Courtney McKenna at 7Pm
Special Musical Performance “Sanctuary” by Courtney McKenna on September 9th and 23rd. For Reservation for “Sanctuary”Performance on 23rd, Please Click Here for reservation.
AG Gallery is pleased to announce our new exhibition with Sirikul Pattachote, Flower Offerings, opening on Sunday, September 1, 2018. Pattachote is a Thai artist living and working in New York City. In May 2016, Pattachote had her solo exhibition Things Are Actually Not Falling Apart with AG Gallery featuring her flower and female portrait paintings. In the exhibition we focused on finding peaceful unity within the laws of living a life through the artist’s original watercolor paintings and drawings. Flower Offerings is her second solo exhibition at AG Gallery.
Symbolic offerings are common practice made in Buddhism for multiple reasons but mainly the fundamental importance of offering for the offerer is the act and mind of the offering itself, more than the value of object that is offered. Such material offerings typically involve objects such as food, fruits, water or drinks, incense, candles, and flowers. Although it is visible material that is offered, the main focus of such practice is the mental state of and the action of offering, the material is therefore usually something simple and often from the nature. In this exhibition Pattachote and gallery attempt to create the whole experience of the offerings utilizing visual art and sound. It is possible to send out positive energy from one to others; an energy that receivers can convert to an encouragement for anything that they might need.
Pattachote is one of the artists who has been utilizing painting as a part of her meditative practice. From the material she uses, such as paper, to the medium she uses, such as inks and paints that she prepares for her work, to the subject of her works which is cut flowers mostly prepared and offered to the buddha and her beloved people. In this exhibition the artist also focuses on the meanings of the flowers which she selects and paints in her work.
Please join the Flower Offerings and unite the installation as a receiver. You are all you cordially invited to experience the positive energy of unconditional offerings.
“Courages & Endurance”, 2018
Watercolor,oil and hand sewn papers on canvas, 24” x 36”
“My destiny is in your hand (Camillia)”, 2018
Watercolor and hand sewn paper on canvas, 24″ x 36″
Special Guest for Musical Performance: Courtney McKenna
We are happy to announce that our current exhibition Sweet Paradise is extended until the Sunday, August 5th. Please visit the gallery is you haven’t done so. In this exhibition we feature 7 original acrylic silkscreen on wood boards, along with the limited edition silkscreen prints (signed edition of 50) of three works from the show.
This weekend, the gallery is open to public from 12:00 pm to 8 pm as usual. Gallery admission is free.
