Vignette: Fuko ito

“Billowing Hearts” (installation view) by Fuko Ito, Watercolor & colored pencil on paper, 126x156in, 2018

Imagine a world without edges and you begin to understand the work of Fuko Ito. All of figures and the environments that surround them are plush, but not necessarily lacking in conflict or even violence. In her artist’s statement, Ito explains: “Plush is a texture that is both soft yet firm — it is able to absorb trauma and mend itself back into shape. I imagine our hearts and emotional capacities to have the same visceral effect of being bruised and healed like plush. In my drawings, I portray naked, vulnerable creatures called ‘fumblys’ in this plushy ecosystem.”

“Humans and their material belongings collapsed after the ‘Apocalypse of Intolerance’ in which those who denied kindness and compassion to others destroyed humankind. These plushy naked creatures began sprouting from the human remains of those who cared for the well being of themselves and others. Fumblys fill their infinite ecosystem with plush to save themselves from the collapse, fall, and heartache they experience from living among themselves. In my image-making process, I play with color, light, luminosity, and texture to amplify the soft, radiant, and delicate sensations that exist in the otherworldly space of fumblys.”

“Squeeze Cap” by Fuko Ito. Monotype with hand coloring, 17.5x23.5in. 2019

Ito’s imagery is deeply rooted in fantasy that is childlike but not childish, a nursery with all of the rough edges rounded out that still contains indications of the disruption of creativity. In the hand-colored monotype “Squeeze Cap” one of the fumblys has “given birth” to an explosion of plush infants, a bloodless event that nevertheless is graphic in depicting a ferocious eruption of the host form. Ito’s alternate world may be soft, but it does not lack passion or a perspective with social commentary.

“Like in Mannerist works, I exaggerate physical features and figurative gestures of the fumblys to dramatize emotion and physical sensations of grasping, embracing, and releasing. I reinterpret cultural and individual signifiers by presenting fumblys as faceless, naked beings in which empathetic gestures and expression is visualized only through body language. Furthermore, I reference figurative works by male artists throughout art history as a way to question the gendered moral hierarchy of historical narratives. I attempt to reinvent the male-gaze driven imagery by extracting hostility, aggression, and objectification from my figurative forms to ultimately envision a more non-binary narrative that complicate the lines of protagonist and antagonist.” 

“The plushy world of fumblys is not a vision of a hopeless romantic but is a world of soft, affectionate sensations that exists in protest to the often unforgiving social structures we live in. Through navigating my own surroundings and bringing my experiences back into the studio, I attempt to build a more empathetic view of the world and ultimately transcend and invite my viewers into a plushy parallel universe.”

“Shruggles” by Fuko Ito, Graphite & colored pencil on paper, 24x18in, 2017

Ito exhibits frequently, and is scheduled to participate in two upcoming shows in 2020:  "CELEBRATION," at WomensWork.Art Gallery in Poughkeepsie, NY, and "Comfort & Joy," at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, MO.

She has exhibited in Portugal and Japan most recently was in a show with Eugene Sarmiento at Powell Botanical Gardens in Kingsville, MO.  

Hometown: Kobe, Japan
Education: Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking and Drawing, Honors, University of Kansas, 2018; Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking and Artists’ Books, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2014
Website: www.fuko-ito.com/
Instagram: @fukoito

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“Plushscapes” by Fuko Ito, Colored pencil on paper, 8x10in, 2018

“Soft Armours” by Fuko Ito, Colored pencil on paper, 14x23in, 2019

“Plushscapes” by Fuko Ito, Colored pencil on paper, 16.5inx12in, 2018

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved. In addition to his work at the LVA, Keith is also the Managing Editor of a website, Arts-Louisville.com, which covers local visual arts, theatre, and music in Louisville.

Vignette: Sarah Kinslow

"Parachute Room" by Sarah Kinslow, 25x14in, still frame of cinemagraph (2016), $100 | BUY NOW

Artists change over time. As a student in LVA’s Children’s Fine Art Classes, Sarah Kinslow was adept at highly detailed pen & ink drawings, the highlight of a portfolio that earned her a scholarship. Now in art school, she has shifted into fiber as a medium: “From a young age I was introduced to the art world via textile crafts such as crocheting, knitting, embroidery, cross-stitch, and many other processes. This was part of my everyday life and it impacted the trajectory of my career path early on. Through these processes I have been able to express myself and look to other artists following the same lines.”

Like many artists that work with fiber, Kinslow has an acute awareness of the history and heritage of these techniques as, "woman's work" or as menial household activities that, however important to daily life they might have once been, they were not by any means considered art.

“I want my work with textiles to give the viewer a different perspective, and provide them a place visually or physically to see that these realities are not what we may perceive them to be. They are to question what impact they themselves have on to the pieces, such as my installation work, and what their presence does to the work and their impact on their own reality.” 

Who wouldn’t welcome the opportunity to revisit the tent forts of their childhood? Kinslow’s installations are at once modern and traditional, anachronistic yet cozy. By building space that invites a viewer to sit in quiet contemplation, she explores the layers of meaning in the word “comfort” and reconnects us to the fundamental touchstones of family with a sure sense of place. The larger cultural associations can run even deeper, with the universality of a tented enclosure found in enough history to provide a common thread of understanding.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 20
Education: Currently a student at the Kentucky College of Art and Design at Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky for a BFA in Painting/Drawing and Pre-Art Therapy.

"A Place For Contemplation #2" by Sarah Kinslow, 30x20in, digital photo of installation (2016)

"Exploration #4" by Sarah Kinslow, 6x10in, monotype dry point print (2016)

"Fluidity" by Sarah Kinslow, 20x14in, digital print (2016)

Sarah Kinslow (2016)

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

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Vignette: Jill Baker

"Grand Canal" by Jill Baker, 30x12in, oil, $2000 | BUY NOW

Jill Baker working on her painting "Lady In Waiting" (2016)

When one tries to imagine the ideal life of an artist, you might do worse than use Jill Baker’s experience as an example. Encouraged at the earliest age to make art, most notably by her artist grandmother, she majored in Fine Art in undergraduate studies at Baylor University. She traveled extensively and lived in Spain, Italy and South Korea. “In Spain I studied the masterpieces at the Prado. In Florence, Italy I painted under the masters at the Academia di Belle Arti. My work was in a major U.S. Exhibition in Paris and in Italy I was chosen for a one-person show at the prestigious Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. In Seoul, South Korea, I became an Artist In Resident and took advantage of the opportunity to create a major exhibition for the U.S. Information Services, exhibiting in the old American Embassy. I also was taken by the USIS to tour South Korean artists and universities, to lecture and lead workshops.”

For many people, that might have been enough, but Baker moved to New York City, where she exhibited, including two solos shows, before earning her MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute in NYC in 1981. Since then she has exhibited at galleries in major cities and galleries of the states of New York, California, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Evansville, Purdue University, and other institutions.

"Arizona" by Jill Baker, 60x43in, oil, collage, $5000 | BUY NOW

"Gondolas in the Snow" by Jill Baker, 16x30in, oil, $5000 | BUY NOW

As is common with many full-time artists, Baker works on several pieces simultaneously, expressing herself in different styles. She describes her surreal collages, such as “Arizona,” as her most popular work. The upending of recognizable physical reality accomplished through the impossible juxtaposition of conflicting landscapes is compelling; a seamless merging that illustrates Baker’s great facility with medium. 

“I have sought to be true to my strengths and have resisted other occupations and callings to become and remain a visual artist. I know it is a gift I have been given and in developing it, have tried to bring new and innovative visions to it.”

In 2011-12, Baker was a Visiting Professor of Art History at the University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, and since 2009 she has been Adjunct Professor, University of Southern Indiana, Department of Art, also in Evansville. In November 2016 she exhibited at Cook Studio and Gallery with Andy Cook and Debbie Welsh.

Baker is currently listed in Who's Who in the East, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Society, Who's Who in American Art, American Art Directory and Marquis Who's Who of American Women, in Community Leaders of America, Female Artists in the United States: a Research and Resource Guide, Fantastic Art and Artists Directory and the yearly listing in ArtNews.

"Madonna" by Jill Baker, 3x5in, blockprint, $200 | BUY NOW

Public Collections
Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences, Evansville, IN
Goethe House, German Cultural Institute, New York, NY
Krannert Art Series, Purdue University, W.Lafayette IN
Bellarmine College, Merton Collection, Louisville, KY
St. Marks Priory, Fine Arts Collection, South Union, KY.
Alexander & Alexander, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska
Church of St. Thomas Aquinas, Bowling Green, KY
College of Education, Western Kentucky U., Bowling Green, KY

Selected Private Collections
Herman Rath Collection, Houston, Texas
Barton Simons Collection, Los Angeles, California
L. H. Dishman Collection, Washington, DC
Norman Wexler Collection, New York, New York
Dr. Lawrence Balter Collection, New York, New York
Wayne Kline Collection, Studio City, CA
Paul Nonte Collection, Jasper, IN

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 74
Education: BA in Fine Arts, Baylor University (Waco, Texas); studied at the Academia di Belle Arti (Florence, Italy); MFA in Painting, Pratt Institute (New York City)
Gallery Representative: Manhattan Arts (New York City); Contemporary Arts Gallery (New Harmony, Indiana)
Website: http://www.jillbaker.com

"Sotto Porto" by Jill Baker, 24x36in, oil, NFS

"Goddess" by Jill Baker, 18x10in, monotype collage, $500 | BUY NOW

"Seated on Rug" by Jill Baker, 36x48in, oil, $5000 | BUY NOW

Jill Baker working on her painting "Summer Sidewalk In Paris"

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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.

For information on how you can advertise through Artebella click here.