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 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.

…

New York based artist, Yuriko Katori utilizes her master’s degree in
Illustration as Visual Essay to skim the surface of Art Nouveau influence. Pencil, Watercolor, Charcoal and Paper intermingle to host elegant expressions of feminine subtlety.
Katori’s work creates a private space that ripples with personal eccentricity, allowing the viewer to meditate upon otherwise harrowing subjects. Sexuality, confusion, hunger and isolation are rendered humane with delicate precision.
Katori’s current work, “the 1,000 pie” coaxes the gentle bond of innocence and simple drawing by way of visual storytelling.

“Hold it Tight” showcases Katori’s current ruminations on the systematic eccentricities of “normal” daily routine. With works in
various mediums from pencil to oil to storytelling and picturebooks,
Katori places herself into a peculiar universe where societal laws are dissected and quietly questioned.


To learn more about artist please visit her website:
http://www.yurikokatori.com/

or email them at : yuriko@yurikokatori.com

The opening for “Hold it Tight” is Thursday, August 5, 2010 from 7-10 pm at Kokoro Studio. The opening coincides with the monthly First Thursday Art event in San Francisco. The exhibition is also available for viewing during regular gallery hours, Tuesdays – Saturdays 1pm-7pm.

more information about Kokoro Studio please contact
info@kokorostudio.us/415.400.4110