Susan Nakata
”Notions”
a project supported by the Ara Jo Memorial Fund
This show is a reintroduction to Japanese-American artist Susan Nakata (b.1945). Susan was raised in Queens and first moved to the Bay Area to study art at UC Berkeley. In the 1980’s she returned to New York City where she worked alongside contemporaries like On Kawara and Janet Fish. She has worked in multiple art disciplines throughout her life starting with photography, sculpture and layered paper art, later exploring ceramics in her home studio in Kensington.
Susan’s niece Emma Ishii and her housemates Andrew Kodama and Owen Goodwin are curating a weekend exhibition in Susan’s home where Susan has made art for over 20 years. During the pandemic, Susan shared with Emma the increasing fear of losing stability as an older adult in a state of transition. Born out of those conversations, this show gives the public the opportunity to witness Susan’s lifelong commitment to herself, her art, and her continuing urgency to create.
Susan is actively defiant, and has always given herself the space to explore. Her pieces are both organic and otherworldly. Some are quiet while others are loud - all are confident. Some sculptures look like the ocean floor folding in on itself, others like pieces of flesh built from clay. Large-scale paintings evoke the solitude of deep space, others resemble pieces of alien meteor fallen to earth.
A video piece made by Andrew specifically for this show will be on view in the basement. This piece features recordings of conversations between Emma and Susan and an original score.
Opening day with artist discussion on November 6th at 12 noon. For more information about the exhibition, visit http://tinyurl.com/nakatashow.