San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery hosts this exhibition of pictorial and sculptural investigations on color, light and texture, featuring recent artworks by San Diego-based artists Christian Garcia-Olivo, Kaori Fukuyama and Melissa Walter. Kaori Fukuyama’s luminous canvases glow as if lit from within. She’s obsessed with distilling the essence of light in all its variations and with capturing minute subtleties of color. Her surfaces are satisfyingly smooth and vibrant, built layer by layer with invisible brush strokes that achieve a sense of depth and gratifying density. Some works become architectural compositions that force the picture frame and painted surface to slightly project, as if lifting off the wall. Kaori’s paintings, drawings and sculptures stand as peaceful meditations on nature, derived from her exposure to Japanese Shintoism and Buddhism. Circles of pure light seem to break through the monochromatic square canvases. They recreate the startling feeling of staring into the sun and they transport the viewer into a tunnel of radiant light. Sculptures fabricated out of reflective and transparent Mylar allow the light to penetrate and dance; the materials refract and bend the rays of light generating delightful prismatic effects. Minimalism and abstraction paired with a rigorousness of design and execution make these into otherworldly pieces. Kaori shapes light into form and makes the ineffable into something tangible. She seduces the viewer to be present, to appreciate the beauty of a moment suspended in time. Join us to hear the artist talk about her artwork, inspiration and process. SD Mesa College: Facebook Instagram
