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Etsuko Ichikawa - Breath-Memory Watch Video:
Traces of the Molten State

ETSUKO ICHIKAWA

Etsuko Ichikawa will be exhibiting the latest works from her signature series, Glass Pyrograph, fire drawings created with molten glass. A wide array of works from 15 feet long scrolls to intimate palm size pieces will be included. Despite the vastness of scale, each piece captures Ichikawa's gestural movements eternalized onto the paper. A short film 2100° | 451°, showcasing her process in the glass studio, will accompany the exhibition. The title of the film references her working temperature with molten glass(2100 degrees Fahrenheit) and the auto-ignition point of paper (451 degrees Fahrenheit). The film was directed by Alistair Banks Griffin, best known for his acclaimed independent film Two Gates of Sleep (2010 Cannes Director's Fortnight). Also included are experimental pieces the artist refers to as Aquagraphs, water drawings on paper that are at first invisible, then revealed by fire, smoke, and soot. The Davidson exhibition will be the public unveiling of this compelling and innovative new series of works. Born and raised in Tokyo, Ichikawa has resided in Seattle for the past 18 years and worked for Dale Chihuly from 1998-2003. Her work has been exhibited internationally at The Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo, the Seattle Art Museum, the Bellevue Arts Museum and the University of Wyoming Art Museum. Most recently, she became a nominee for the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Award as well as for the Freedom to Create Prize. Ichikawa is also the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant.

Watch the video: INTO THE FIRE
The yin to Etsuko Ichikawa's soft-spoken, intro-spective yang is fiery, molten glass. Handling it while aglow at 2100°F, she loops, stretches and presses the smoking mass of lava atop paper to create abstract drawings known as pyrographs. Watch as filmmaker Alistair Banks Griffin captures the dramatic choreography of Ichikawa's art in this short film for the Anthropologist.

Pyrograph/Aquagraph

Exhibition date: September 2nd – October 1st, 2011

Additional Available Works