Koki Morimoto. Planting the Seeds of Abstraction

Japanese artist Koki Morimoto likens his painting process to the natural process by which plants emerge from the ground and grow, an evolution which is echoed in the elegant lines and shapes of his black and white acrylic compositions.

The seductive curves and textures in these abstract canvases occasionally suggest such disparate subjects as landscapes or calligraphy, and their titles occasionally offer evocations of nature, but the works remain decidedly non-representational, focusing viewers’ eyes on the visual and tactile properties of the thick, rounded brushstrokes and the interplay of light and dark areas in each image.

The dark, sinuous forms Morimoto’s marks describe — to which he occasionally adds shades of color like pale blues, yellows, and dark browns — guide the eyes over the canvas, at times becoming bold and thick, elsewhere thinning out to reveal the white beneath. Each work takes the viewer on an optical journey of sorts, tracing a line over a white space, like a seed emerging from barren ground.

Exhibition Dates: July 5, 2014 – July 25, 2014
Reception: Thursday, July 10, 2014, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat 11-6
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, Chelsea, New York

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Koki_Morimoto.aspx

Featured Artists:

Sensorial Sensibilities

Laura Bedard | Ruggiero Bignardi | Stefano Ceretti | Tasos Dimos | Jesse Ensling | Adam Kiger | Tanya Kostina | Charlotte Lisboa | Koki Morimoto | Raymie Rushing | Cheli Sanabria

About the Exhibition

The works in Sensorial Sensibilities reflect a range of considerations, ideas and experiences, as each piece draws on the background, thoughts and memories of its creator. The result is always thought-provoking and even inspiring, as the artists pour their nearest and deepest concerns into their art, encouraging us to engage with those concepts as well.