Installation

Contact Information

e-mail:
www.keikomiyamori.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Statement

Interested in creating an imaginary space where unity among nature and humanity can exist, I communicate through sculpture, installation, drawing, and painting. With a background that involved learning traditional Japanese painting, practicing the martial art of Kendo, and delving into Asian history, my current work is a combination of these influences distilled through the concept of interconnectedness. In reality, I often find myself faced with hopelessness that is undeniable on a human level. Yet, I also find that I am a witness to the existence of art, which exhibits a gathering of wisdom that denies this hopelessness. I seek to reproduce those moments of true connection between human beings that create a peaceful sense of unity.

Throughout my work, there is a constant acknowledgment of the interconnectedness of all beings in both material and emotion. My work strives to communicate this connection among all beings and organic matter as a means of encouraging a stronger and more realized relationship. This is manifested in projects that involve the exchange of objects, ideas, and philosophies between international locations and populations. Combining traditional organic materials and contemporary man-made materials allows me to addresses my reality of living in an urban environment. Installations involving tree rubbings and tree roots speak to my interest in growth, identification, space, and scale. My work challenges the viewer to question his or her relationship to the material world as well as to every other human being. For me, these concerns are quietly powerful and unsettling.

Education

1995
Master of Fine Art, University of Tsukuba, Japan

1993
Bachelor of Fine Art, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Professional Experience

2000 – Present
Adjunct faculty, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Honors and Awards

2008
Fellow Artist, The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA

2004
1st prize, Sculpture Competition, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI

2003
Window of Opportunity Grant, The Leeway Foundation, Philadelphia, PA

Artist in Residence, The Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA

Visiting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Scholarship, The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Tokyo, Japan

1997
1st prize, The 16th Imadate Works on Paper – Contemporary Art Exhibition, Fukui, Japan

1995-1996
The Tamon Prize Fellowship by Sekiguchi Foundation, New York, NY

Selected Exhibitions

Solo

2011
Bird Cages & the Gilded Boat, Ise Cultural Foundation, New York, NY
an installation with soundscape by Steven Berkowitz
Curated by Sean A. Stoops

2004
Memoria, InLiquid exhibition series at Community Gallery, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA

Natual, Kunstgalerie, Bad Wimpfen, Germany

2003
Melody, The Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA

2002
Imagina, Project Room, Philadelphia, PA

2001
Connections – Typewriter/Energy, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA

2000
Images of Nature, Gallery X, New York, NY

1999
Imagine Here and There, The Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

1998
PD x Earth, Kasumi Tsukuba Center, Ibaraki, Japan

Two-Person

2007 – 2008
Contemplative Spaces, Borowsky Gallery, Gershman Y, Philadelphia, PA

Group

2008
PHL <-> PGH Exhibition Exchange at Pittsburgh Biennial, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA

2007
Land(E)Scape, Onishi Gallery, New York, NY

Greenmachine, InLiquid at The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Philadelphia, PA
Curator: John Murphy

2004
The Color Green, Esther M. Klein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Emerging, Slought Foundation, Philadelphia, PA

Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, PA

Too Fresh, NURTUREart Gallery, New York, NY

DOMANI – The Art of Tomorrow 2003, Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan

2002
Gendai Bijyutu Kami Ten, Nakatomi Modern Craft Museum, Yamanashi, Japan

2001
Reach The Heights, New York Presbyterian, New York, NY

1999
Images Of Nature, The Bob and Penny Fox Student Art Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, PA

1997
VOCA’97- The Vision of Contemporary Art, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan

Taegu-Asia Arts Exhibition, Taegu Culture and Art Center, Taegu, Korea

1996
Dialogos 1996, Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito, Japan