Kokoro Studio announces
Levi Pata: It Hurts to Let You Go

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Kokoro Studio is pleased to announce It Hurts to Let You Go, an exhibition of new work by Levi Pata, on view through February 23. It Hurts to Let You Go is Pata’s first solo exhibition in the United States.

Levi Pata’s work is influenced by the surprising disconnections he observes in fleeting moments. His recent solo exhibition in Japan, titled Continuous Gunfire and Greek Music, was inspired by the closed-captioned description of two ambient noises in a scene of The Godfather. When devastating earthquakes struck Tokyo in March, Pata’s exhibition was halted. That night, as he and the rest of the city wandered fretfully, worrying about loved ones and trying to find their ways home, Pata paused to watch two white swans swim contentedly in a smooth moat. In his work, Pata sets the disparate elements of the world against each other to find out what they have in common, or, at least, how they manage to co-exist.

His search for understanding is evident in Pata’s painting style. Tension is built from opposites. The color choices are both muddy and bright, and paint is both layered up and scraped away. The images are mostly abstract, but figures emerge to compound the non-sequitur. A sense of discomfort prevails. Everything you see is on the canvas, but doesn’t feel peaceably restrained by those boundaries. Pata lets the discomfort and tension take over his work, just as he chooses to let the world be out of his control, to let it go on with its indecipherable contradictions.

It Hurts to Let You Go will be on view at Kokoro Studio from February 9 to February 23, 2012. There will be a public opening reception on Thursday February 9 from 7pm to 10pm. Kokoro Studio is located at 682 Geary Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from Union Square. Open hours are Tuesday through Friday from 2pm to 8pm, Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment. For more information, please visithttp://www.kokorostudio.us.

Happy holidays from Kokoro!

Please join us this Thursday for our holiday party and December opening - 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Get into the ring… Kokoro Gallery presents a solo exhibition of new work by William Emmert, on view through November 24th. “The Squared Circle” is Emmert’s first solo exhibition in San Francisco, and will feature mixed media works on childhood wrestling posters and a handmade VHS tape collection.

William Emmert’s playful and fantastical art harvests new discoveries from the dusty artifacts of an average childhood. Remaking and painting over imagery from wrestling magazines, baseball cards, and bad movies, Emmert’s pop explosions deliver a chair shot of cool composition and absurd iconography. Filled with firm lines, bright hues, and drop kicks of adolescent memories, his paintings celebrate the strange poses of macho heroes and the imaginary landscapes they inhabit.

Emmert’s colorful bursts of distorted ephemera aim to highlight forgotten fantasies and the need to time-travel within one’s own personal history. Conveying blurred references to bedroom posters, teenage collections, and hero worship, the artworks serve as stand-ins holding the place for a desired myth. Emmert’s reinventions remind us of the curious and beautiful forms lurking underneath even the silliest displays of popular art and mass marketing.

William Emmert is from Seattle, Washington, and is currently based in San Francisco.

“The Squared Circle” will be on view at Kokoro Studio from November 3 to 24, 2011. There will be a public opening reception on Thursday, November 3 from 7 to 10pm. Kokoro Studio is located at 682 Geary Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from Union Square, and is open Thursday through Friday from 2pm to 8pm, Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment. For more information, please visithttp://www.flickr.com/photos/emmertwilliam and http://www.kokorostudio.us.

Kokoro Studio is proud to mark our second anniversary, reflecting on the essence of Kokoro Studio: a portal toward new ideas and worlds within. 

This month we present the return of Kokoro artists Maria Berrio, Sara Christian, Yuriko Katori, Mayumi Tanaka, and an interactive projection by Superdeux. We are also pleased to present a collaboration with Japanese calligrapher Aoi Yamaguchi.

We invite you to celebrate with us as we remember the past two years, and embark on another year of discovery.


“Kokoro” will be on view at Kokoro Studio from October 6 to 27, 2011. There will be a public opening reception on Thursday, October 6 from 7 to 10pm. Kokoro Studio is located at 682 Geary Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from Union Square, and is open Thursday through Friday from 1pm to 8pm, Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment. For more information, please visithttp://www.kokorostudio.us.

Kokoro Studio announces

“Smile to Your Life!”
by Jonathan Wallraven

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Kokoro Studio is pleased to announce a solo show of new work by Jonathan Wallraven, on view through September 29. “Smile to Your Life!” is Wallraven’s first San Francisco solo exhibition, and will feature black-and-white ink drawings on panels and wall-hung sculptures.

Wallraven’s drawings depict slightly grotesque women, open-mouthed, with their words and thoughts spelled out inside irregular speech bubbles. Phrases like “Smile to your life!” “Add it up!” and “Embrace nothing” are imperative statements bordering on the non-sensical. Wallraven likens these phrases to zen koan, short questions or statements that require intuition, rather than rational thinking, to decipher. The nonsense quality, along with heartfelt sincerity and a healthy sense of humor, disarms the audience to reveal deeper truths about the self.

This absurd language is accompanied by equally absurd images. The unrealistic, Photoshopped women found in magazines and print advertising are the source material of Wallraven’s figures. He alters their already distorted forms through a transformative drawing process. A small original drawing in made in his distinctive style, then a skewed projection of that drawing is traced onto the wall or a panel. Recently, Wallraven added another layer of distortion by projecting his final drawings onto three-dimensional surfaces. The images stretch and warp across the object’s planes, becoming unrecognizable at certain points. The result, although far removed from reality, replicates the combination of discomfort and humor that marks everyday life. 

Jonathan Wallraven is an American artist who was born and raised in Tennessee. He studied studio art at Middle Tennessee State University, where he was trained in printmaking, drawing, and sculpture. He is currently an MFA candidate at California College of the Arts. Wallraven lives and works in San Francisco. 

“Smile to Your Life!” will be on view at Kokoro Studio from September 8 to 29, 2011. There will be a public opening reception on Thursday, September 8 from 7 to 10pm. Kokoro Studio is located at 682 Geary Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from Union Square, and is open Thursday through Friday from 2pm to 8pm, Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment. For more information, please visitwww.jonathanwallraven.com and www.kokorostudio.us.

…

Kokoro Studio Presents: KOKORO SUMMER GROUP SHOW

Where: Kokoro Studio. 682 Geary st San Francisco, CA 94102

When: 7pm-10pm 7.7.2011(opening) 7.7-8.26.2011(on view)

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Celebrate summer with Kokoro Studio at our Summer Group Show. Come enjoy the familiar and explore new discoveries as we feature our favorite known and new artists. We are pleased to welcome back several artists who have exhibited in our gallery in recent months, as well as inviting new artists into our space for the first time. The Summer Group Show is your sneak preview into the upcoming season at Kokoro. Artists include Catrine Bodum, William Emmert, Alex Braubach, Courtney Johnson, Yuriko Katori, Hyesu Lee, JiandYin, Ignacio Murua, Mayumi Tanaka, and Jonathan Wallraven.
Join us at the opening reception on Thursday July 7 from 7pm to 10pm! 

The Summer Group Show will be on view at Kokoro Studio from July 7 to August 28, 2011. Kokoro Studio is located at 682 Geary Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from Union Square, and is open Tuesday through Friday from 2pm to 8pm, Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment.

For more information, please contact info@kokorostudio.us

Kokoro Studio announces 

“Unhealthy,” a Solo Exhibition by Mayumi Tanaka

Reception: May 5. 7pm - 10pm

Performance by Spobra starts at 9pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Kokoro Studio is pleased to announce “Unhealthy,” a solo show of drawings, craft, and performance by Japanese artist Mayumi Tanaka, on view through May 5 - May 26, 2011. The exhibition will commence with a special opening night performance by Tanaka’s dance and acting group, SpoBra.

Mayumi Tanaka treads a thin line of quirky cuteness. She stands at once on both sides of the cute aesthetic, embracing and undermining it in the same work. Brightly colored drawings bely insidious content; child-like costuming and game-show music contrast with the sincerity of her performances. Dualities are recurrent in Tanaks’a art, because she uses drawing and performance to attempt an honest translation of human feelings. Her newest body of work explores her own secret bad habits, with an emphasis on their reality. To Tanaka, the reality of bad habits is their duality: seductive, but unhealthy, tempting, but destructive.

The resulting drawings can take the viewer by surprise. The immediate impact of the luscious color palate and cartoonish contour lines feels carefree and naive. A closer look, however, reveals drooping faces, ghostly shadows, graying skin, and the undeniable impression that something is wrong. 

Mayumi Tanaka was born in Tokyo, Japan, and lives and works in the Culver City arts district of Los Angeles. She graduated from Asagaya Art College in Tokyo. Her artwork and performance have been exhibited throughout the state of California. 

“Unhealthy” will be on view at Kokoro Studio from May 5 to May 26, 2011. There will be a public opening reception on Thursday, May 5 from 7pm to 10pm. Kokoro Studio is located at 682 Geary Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from Union Square, and is open Tuesday through Friday from 2pm to 8pm, Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment.

For more information, please visit www.mayubonne.com, www.spobra.net,  and www.kokorostudio.us.

- written by Christine Peterson

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Kokoro Studio announces
“Bahama Kangaroo”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Kokoro Studio is pleased to host “Bahama Kangaroo,” the solo exhibition of artist Yukako Ezoe. A Japanese-American artist, designer, and teacher, Ezoe investigates history and mythology through stylistic references in her fictional landscapes and invented personalities. She mixes cultures and media to narrate a world of romantic, dream-like imagination, whether on the side of a building or a pair of shoes. 

Ezoe’s varied art practice includes collage, painting, installation, video, and drawing. Her interests are just as varied, and past projects have dealt with topics as divergent as religious media control and the mythology of cultural ritual. Japanese pop artist Yokoo Tadanori’s work of the 1960s and 70s is an evident influence on Ezoe’s high-contrast color choices and her compositional style. At the same time, she finds inspiration for natural subject matter in field studies, such as the bird paintings of wildlife artist John James Audubon. For her solo show, Ezoe is creating new work in the form of self-portraits. Through extensive use of personal symbolism, she represents aspects of historical and popular culture with which she identifies. Her materials reflect herself: bits of Japanese kimono fabric, dark colors representing her love of the night, the image of a percussion instrument that allows her to imagine the elongated resonance of its music upon sight. 

Ezoe received her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2006. As a San Francisco resident, Ezoe cites the local cost of living and community concern for the environment as catalysts for being resourceful in art making. She limits the materials she purchases from art supply stores, and supplements with found and used materials, with a goal of creating the least possible amount of waste in the process. Her professional involvements in the San Francisco community include teaching art with Larkin Street Youth Services, a non-profit that provides rebuilding resources to at-risk, runaway, and homeless youth. She is also a teaching artist with Precita Eyes Mural Arts Association, where she has participated in the creation of a dozen community mural projects since 2006. Besides teaching, Ezoe applies her artistic skills to curating, graphic design, live painting events, and her current project, Bahama Kangaroo, a line of jewelry and silk-screened t-shirts made in collaboration with her husband, Naoki Onodera.

“Bahama Kangaroo” will be on view at Kokoro Studio from March 3 to March 24, 2011. There will be a public opening reception on Thursday, March 3 from 7pm to 10pm.

Kokoro Studio is located at 682 Geary Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from Union Square, and is open Tuesday through Friday from 2pm to 8pm, Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment. 

For more information, please contact info@kokorostudio.us
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—- Kokoro Studio proudly presents “Bomba 4,” a solo exhibition of new work by Chilean artist Ignacio Murua. Murua takes advantage of the malleable quality of printed ink to obscure and distort the female form. The body that is digitally perfected is presently manually degraded as Murua comments on women and social issues, while also exploring new possibilities in the medium of painting. 

Ignacio Murua lives and works in Santiago de Chile and Brooklyn, NY. He is inspired the Chilean yellow press newspapers that publish images of ideal female bodies as the “women of the week.” What the popular culture esteems as perfection, Murua translates as uncomfortable and grotesque. By its denial of the familiar, flawed (normal) body, such perfection is encountered as a deformity. Murua uses a unique process of “painting without using paint” to contrast the disturbingly artificial perfection with smeared and dripping strokes. He works quickly to manipulate the wet pigment of a freshly printed photograph, causing the very substance of the image to be distorted, obscured, erased, or washed away. Remaining is a blurred silhouette, the suggestion of a posture that replaces individual identity. In a global society preoccupied with age and beauty, the work of Ignacio Murua disregards time, wiping out both perfection and its potential for decay. 

“Bomba 4” will be on view at Kokoro Studio from February 3 to February 24, 2011. There will be a public opening reception on Thursday, February 3 from 7pm to 10pm.

Kokoro Studio is located at 682 Geary Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from Union Square, and is open Tuesday through Friday from 2pm to 8pm, Saturday from 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment. 

For more information, please visit www.ignaciomurua.net and www.kokorostudio.us.