Bio / Artist Statement

Bio

Born in Tokyo, Japan. She studied graphic design at Joshibi University of Art and Design in Tokyo. She came to US in 1986 to attend The University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she started learning woodworking. She received her MFA from Furniture Design Program at Rhode Island School of Design. She has exhibited widely in the United States, in both galleries and museums. Public collections includes The Albuquerque Museum, Fidelity Investments, and CBOE. She currently lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her works are represented by Richard Levy Gallery.

Artist Statement

Give me a circle & square everyday - I will make a sandwich and eat it for lunch.

The moon in the sky amazes me every time I look up.  Full circle to crescent, the magic of geometry has been entertaining humans for a long long time. It sure has been giving inspirations to my thinking. The circle’s perfection, the energy that is created from equal distancing from the center, the nature of continuity are all fascinating compositional elements. The moon is a three dimensional object, but we only experience it as a two dimensional shape which depends on where it is and how the light is cast. Our perceptions change through the month.

‘Square one’, I was very pleased to learn this expression in English. It is an another shape/place where my ideas start. I believe that the roots of this interest and seeing beauty in formal geometry are in part coming from my home country Japan, where the square is used in many cultural forms. The tatami floor mat, for example, a rectangle with proportions of 2:1 is used to define many aspects of domestic architecture. Origami might be the most recognized Japanese use of the square as the ‘origin’ of invented form. Just folding it once, it becomes a triangle or a rectangle. It is a visual amusement park to me.

I am interested in how geometry can distort from various perspectives, a circle to an oval, a square to a rhombus. A curved line can be seen straight. An angle disappears into a straight line. To realize these interests, I take the picture plane and make it a 3D experience, and/or present a 3D object to be viewed as a flat plane.

Please note that side views are equally important as a front view in my creations. There are many points of view when you see.

Emi Ozawa