Two figures greet the spectators who enter long eclipse at the Amos Eno Gallery in Bushwick, the first New York solo exhibition of multidisciplinary artist Kahori Kamiya, born in Nagoya and based in New York.
“Blooming Flow” is the artist’s vision of Venus. In 2005, the Japanese shrine Fuji Sengen commissioned Kamiya to make an idol honoring Konohanasakuya-hime, the cherry blossom goddess of Mount Fuji. “Blooming Flow,” however, is entirely up to the sculptor. Kamiya’s nudges remain imprinted on plumes of clay rising from his chest, painted in acrylic and foil and speckled with amethyst. A mortal of clay and polyurethane hovers behind her in the mural “OMG”.
long eclipse features Kamiya’s first set of paintings. The artist received an MFA in sculpture from Tokyo’s Nihon University of Art in 2005 and a second MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2009. His extensive practice in sculpture and performance informs paintings of kind through long eclipsein particular the titular work – a large scene lined with kimono sashes, chosen to represent both the umbilical cord connecting baby and mother and Kamiya’s Japanese heritage.
In the painting, an electric green woman tries and fails to cross the picture plane. Two bulging eyes peer into a gaping void, echoing a solar eclipse, where his chest should be. Kamiya struggled to produce milk for her second child just before the pandemic. Meanwhile, she worried about protecting her children and herself as hate crimes against Asians and Asian Americans soared and discriminatory stares became playground routines.
However, layers of foam, resin, and bonded feathers break through this plane, encouraging viewers to explore varied benefits. Through works like these, Kamiya conveys his accumulated wisdom and experiences without the weight of their pain. Pure abstractions in front, like a freestanding animist sculpture and textured paintings, on the floor long eclipse further, rewarding dedicated viewers with playful discoveries where chance and foam meet in successive nooks.
Even without a definite form, these abstractions are as much offerings to Mother Earth as they are the opening work of the show. Each is mounted or framed in pine to suggest the traditional light wood of a shrine. According to Shinto belief, pine trees in particular are home to the spirits of gods and goddesses, who use their branches to enter Earth.
Sparkles of gold leaf throughout the reference kintsugi, the art of mending broken ceramics with gold, making their imperfections beautiful. Between these gleams and these depths, Kamiya transmutes grief and anguish into playful and powerful offerings.
Kahori Kamiya: long eclipse continues at Amos Eno Gallery (56 Bogart Street, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn) through March 26. The exhibition was organized by the gallery.
