Date/Time
Date(s) - Wednesday, July 11, 2018
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Location
Hosmer Gallery at Forbes Library
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This exhibit is a family collaboration by two artists from the East Coast and the West Coast. Kichung Lizee from Shelburne Falls was born in Korea and trained in Eastern Calligraphy and Abstract Art, has had art shows and workshops around the world, and was an ordained Zen Priest. Her work allows spirit to flow through the brush and onto mulberry paper for a fluid and spontaneous style. Her Los Angeles based daughter-in-law, Erika Lizee, is gaining recognition as a visionary installation artist whose work has been featured in the Los Angeles International Airport, and major galleries and public venues.
Kichung was invited to explore the archives of Historic Northampton to seek an Asian connection. She discovered a poem sent to the founders of Historic Northampton, Thomas and Edith Shepherd, by a friend in Japan. The poem reflects the peace and serenity of a statue of Great Buddha that the Shepherds had found compelling. They had travelled extensively and maintained journals and photos of their travels in Asia that are now kept in the archives.
The poem and the Shepherds’ travel mementos from Asia inspired Kichung and Erika to create an exhibit based on the Japanese concept of “Unsui”, or “Cloud and Water”. In Japanese Buddhism this concept is represented by wandering monks and nuns who practice being in the present moment by inviting spirit to float through them like water and clouds.
It is their hope that this exhibit will inspire you to experience Unsui in a meaningful way.
Erika Lizee was born in Chicago, Illinois, yet was raised in a tiny town in Northern Wisconsin. Much of her childhood was spent exploring the woods, swimming the lakes and climbing the snowdrifts of this serene part of the country. Her upbringing fostered a strong connection to the
natural world, which remains an important aspect of Lizee’s life and art work. Ms. Lizee is an artist that creates site-specific, illusion-based installations with acrylic paint. Most recently she built installations with the Vita Art Center, Gallery 825, Launch LA, Art Share LA, and the International Terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Her work has been featured in Juxtapoz, Beautiful/Decay, Hi Fructose, the Huffington Post, and Beautiful Bizarre magazines. Erika Lizee earned a BFA in painting from UNC Asheville, NC, and her MFA in painting from CSU Northridge, CA. She is a professor of Art at Moorpark College as well as the Director of the Moorpark College Art Gallery. She lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
Kichung Lizee is a Korean-born American artist and Buddhist practitioner who uniquely blends Eastern calligraphy and Western thematic materials. She has taught and exhibited internationally and curated many exhibits bringing together Eastern calligraphers and Western artists. She was honored with a special award in 2008 at the Seoul International Calligraphy Biennale, Korea, and has been a featured artist at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, OR, and the Turchin Center for Visual Arts, Boone, NC.
Recently Kichung conducted Eastern calligraphic painting workshop at the 15 th International Sakyaditta Buddhist Women Conference in Hong Kong. She has presented workshops and exhibited in NC, TN, GA, FL, OH, CO, PA, MA, OR, WA, CA, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Japan and Korea. She is a recent resident of the Pioneer Valley in Northampton and Shelburne Falls.
Exhibition on view from July 2nd – 30st at Hosmer Gallery
Hosmer Gallery Hours:
Monday 9AM–9PM, Tuesday 1–5PM, Wednesday 9AM–9PM, Thursday 1–5PM, Friday 9AM–5PM, Saturday 9AM–5PM, Sunday Closed