Tamiko Kawata

Georges Braque said, “I do not believe in any one thing. I do not believe in things. I believe in their relationship, in their circumstances. Circumstances bestow reality on things, in Zen it is said- Reality is not this, it is the fact of being this. This is a paper knife, but if I use it as a shoehorn, it becomes a shoehorn.”  

Through my artwork, I am searching for another vision and another way of thinking for my life.  I like to use overlooked indigenous objects from our daily life for medium. Discarded materials are important to me not only for environmental issues but also to reflect my current life. My choice of materials and interpretation are influenced by the differences that I experience between life in America and Japan where I grew up.  

“Dadaism” and “Assemblage,”these radical philosophies were perfect to affect the wounded Japanese youth in post World War II. I grew up watching them in my forming years in Japan, and these philosophies became my solid core for my way of thinking and for my art making direction.

My works are personal; I work in large and small scales in belief of intimacy. They are my visual diaries.

2014
Tamiko Kawata