InLiquid presents Of Water and Wood, a site-specific installation of new paintings on wood panels, works on paper, and light projections by Michele C. Kishita in the Bride’s Cafe Gallery.  Works in the exhibit are Kishita’s response to the wood grain patterns of her painting surfaces and inspired by the “waterfall prints” of Japanese woodblock master, Katsushika Hokusai.

About the installation, Michele Kishita writes:

“The transmutable quality of water seems endless. It is at once a vast frozen glacier and an invisible wall of humidity. In a matter of minutes, water’s beauty and serenity can become a frighteningly dark and tumultuous rage. It is a destroyer of life, yet without it life would cease to exist. For these reasons, it has been the subject or the stage on which the subject has been activated for artists and writers since time immemorial.

My paintings are inspired by Milton Avery’s serene landscapes and Katsushika Hokusai’s depictions of water. I build up thin layers of acrylic paint and collage after which I juxtapose or intermingle silver or gold leaf, reminiscent of Japanese screens and scroll paintings. In each painting I strive to capture the memory and spirit of the landscape from my childhood in rural Pennsylvania and my time living abroad in Japan.” Michele C. Kishita is a Philadelphia-based artist and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Writing at the University of the Arts. She synthesizes her childhood memories of rural Pennsylvania and her experiences living abroad in Japan into mixed media landscapes. Her canvases begin with layers of broad uncontrolled washes, recognizable as a metaphor for the “noise” in her everyday life. She slowly paints out and reduces the layers to only a small area of the pictorial space, revealing her desire to recapture the serenity of her childhood home and the simple and quiet spirit of Japan. Her paintings are in several private collections and have been shown in many group exhibitions in Philadelphia and internationally at the Sharjah Art Museum in the United Arab Emirates. Kishita received both her B.F.A and M.F.A from The University of the Arts.

About InLiquid

InLiquid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to creating opportunities and exposure for visual artists while serving as a free, online public hub for arts information in the Philadelphia area. By providing the public with immediate access to view the portfolios and credentials of over 250 artists and designers via the internet; through meaningful partnerships with other cultural organizations; through community-based activities and exhibitions; and through an extensive online body of timely art information, InLiquid brings to light the richness of our region’s art activity, broadens audiences, and heightens appreciation for all forms of visual culture.

Support provided in part by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.