Jun'ichirö Ishida
I envision my art as promoting the positive essence of the human experience. I want my paintings to wake up an audience from idling in the impermanence of the floating world and advance them to a level of consciousness embodied in the following declarations: Live the life. Now is the time. Focus and concentrate. I want to celebrate being alive in an interconnected realm. Absolute beauty resides in tranquility. I challenge the notion of self-serving, self-important, self-expressional art. Also, I contest the idea of art as protesting, criticizing, or merely reflecting our society. I would rather dedicate my work to preserving the good side of human nature rather than reducing it to a mere complaint. In working toward this mission, I distil and decant ingredients from my surroundings and strive to radiate them with pure energy.
To invest in the positive side of the human experience, I am committed to aesthetics. I have four guiding principles for art making: unexpected composition, skillfully and cleverly crafted forms, richness in color, and unique layering effects. According to these principals, manipulate dimension, form, and color. These ideas come from studying eastern traditional art, particularly Japanese art from the feudal era. I use elements such as stylized natural forms, Buddhist iconography, haiku poems, Chinese Buddhist mantras, Tibetan secret symbols, as well as composition and techniques from Asian art. By using East Asian traditions, I introduce the viewer to the Asian art tradition, a legacy as rich as Western art, yet often neglected. Besides being a messenger of what we identify as goodness, I would also like to redefine and revive the elegance of Asian art in post-modern times.
I paint what I know, and, in doing so, strive to be true to my inner thoughts and maintain a clear mind in making an honest work. When the radiance from a painting is conveyed to an audience - and when they feel that positive energy - I consider my work a success.
Selected exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2008: 7 Arts Studio, Wilmington, DE
2007: 7 Arts Studio, Wilmington, DE
The Interchurch center, NYC, NY
Cornucopia Art Center, Lanesboro, MN
2005: Rotunda Gallery, the City Hall of Jersey City, NJ
Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark, NJ
2004: l.i.t.m., Jersey City, NJ
2003: Arts on 6th, Hoboken, NJ
Vartali, New York, NY
Siddartha Gallery, Kathmandu, Nepal
Public Art/Performing Art
2009: Mandal prayformance with Akim the Funk Buddha at Bali Sprit Festival
2008: Wetland Mandala project, Espay Foundation, Oysterville, WA
Birdnest Mandala project, Lanesboro, MN
Curatorial Work
2007: the Memory of Water and Fire, Canaco, Jersey City, NJ
2006: Object of Desires, Baja, Jersey City, NJ
Botany, Sweet Pacilla, Jersey City, NJ
Reverie, 58 Gallery Annex, Jersey City, NJ
2005: Magical Realism, 148 Newark, Jersey City, NJ
Group Exhibitions
2009: Co-Incidental, 329 Broome Street, New York, NY at White Box
2009: Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
2008: The Stanton Chapter, NYC, NY
Menagerie, Arts Guild of Rahway,Rahway, NJ
Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts Open House, Omaha, NE
2007: Art Basel Miami Beach/Francesca Fine Art
Tenri Gallery, New York, NY
Bemis Center for Contemporary, Omaha, NE
2006: Tenri Gallery, New York, NY
American Diaspora, Victory Hall Cultural Center, Jersey City, NJ
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts Open House, Omaha, NE
NYCoo Gallery, NY
Across a Fresh Landscape, Jersey City, NJ
Williams Center gallery, Easton, PA
2005: Hammond Museum, North Salem, NY
Tenri Gallery, New York, NY
The Lemmerman Gallery, New Jersey City University, NJ
Palmer Museum, Springfield
B. Beamsderfer Gallery, Highland Park, NJ
Monmouth Museum,Lincroft, NJ
City Without Walls, Newark, NJ
2004: City Without Walls, Newark, NJ
Djerassi Artists Program Open House, Woodside, CA
What Have You Got To Say, Jersey City, NJ
Urban Complex, Jersey City, NJ
Tenri Gallery, New York, NY
PFO Gallery, Busan, Korea
ISO tower exhibition, Jersey City, NJ
Consulate General of Japan in NY, NY
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts Open House, Omaha, NE
2003: City Without Walls, Newark, NJ
Arts on 6th, Hoboken, NJ>
Tenri Gallery, New York, NY
Artist Space Gallery, New York, NY
UARTS Gallery, Philadelphia PA
2002: StepOn Design, Newark, NJ
Art About The House,Jersey City, NJ
Tenri Gallery, New York, NY
2001: Elsa Mott Ives Gallery, New York, NY
1999: Bamboo Gallery,Kathmandu, Nepal
Award, residency & other activities
2008: Anderson Center, Red Wing, Minnesota by Jerome Foundation
Espy foundation residency, Oysterville, WA
2007: Virginia Center For the Creative arts , Amherst, VA
2006: I-Park, Art Residency, East Haddam, CT
Cornucopia Art Center Residency, Lanesboro, MN by Jerome Foundation
2005: A mentor to high school students at City Without Walls,Newark, NJ
2004: Craft at Morristown Exhibiter, Morristown NJ
Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA by Rebecca Goldfarb Fellowship
2003: Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts Residency, Omaha, NE
Blue Mountain Center Residency, Blue Mt. Lake, NY
2002: Mural design at CS2X school, Bronx, NY with Fernanda Martin
Vermont Studio Center Residency by Dodge Foundation
since 2002: Contributor to “Postcards from the Edge” show by Visual AIDS, NYC,
Contributor to “A Night of 1000 Drawings” show at Artists Space, NYC
since 2003: Art*o*mat Artist, http://www.artomat.org
Education
1997: MFA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison
1995: BA from Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA
Bibliography, review, interview & Catalog
KMUN / Coast Community Radio Carol Newman, March 2008
Ahn Behrens, "Subconscious life surfaces in artists’ visual “Reverie”" Waterfront Journal,
February 16, 2006
Ahn Behrens, "’Blossoms’ exhibition Opens tonight" Waterfront Journal, Vol.4 No.9, May 5,
Cover photo at Current, Vol 15, No. 18 September 2005
2004, “The Fusion in Busan Korea, A show catalog