FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATES: October 3 – November 30, 2019
OPENING RECEPTION: First Thursday, October 3, 5-8pm
RECEPTION: First Thursday, November 7, 5-8pm
LOCATION: ArtXchange Gallery, 512 First Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
HOURS: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 AM – 5:30 PM, First Thursdays until 8 PM
PHONE: 206-839-0377
WEB ADDRESS: www.artxchange.org GENERAL EMAIL: info@artxchange.org
June Sekiguchi, Kite (Gold) detail (2019), Scroll-cut wood with gold leaf, acrylic glaze, wire and beads
(Seattle, WA – September 4, 2019) ArtXchange Gallery presents The Pulse of Water, a new solo exhibition by June Sekiguchi opening First Thursday, October 3, 5-8pm. Using intricate scroll-cut wood constructions, Sekiguchi takes the audience on a journey to Laos, using pattern, light and projection to create an immersive installation. Using primarily wood, a scroll-saw, and paint, Sekiguchi manipulates her source materials in ways that challenge the properties of wood.
The theme of water has always featured prominently in Sekiguchi’s work, representing the river’s power as a source of life and a conveyor of cultural exchange throughout human history. Inspired by her experiences floating down the Mekong River in Laos, Sekiguchi has created a sculptural river that fills the gallery. A bamboo footbridge allows audiences to step into Sekiguchi’s world, and alludes to the temporary bridges built by Lao villagers each year over the Mekong, only to be washed away again during the monsoon season. The Pulse of Water is a meditation on Sekiguchi’s personal history and the impermanence of the human world.
By deconstructing and reconstructing her materials in new ways, Sekiguchi’s work explores metaphorical rather than literal interpretations of the source material. In her latest work, Sekiguchi shatters her signature scroll-cut shapes and then sutures them back together with wire to create larger sculptural works that drape and flow. The repetitious physical labor she puts into processing her materials honors her cornerstone themes of family, history and culture. June Sekiguchi’s sculpture and installations have been exhibited and collected throughout the region, including Seattle Portable Works Collection, Wing Luke Asian Museum, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bellevue Arts Museum and internationally in Laos, Morocco, and Sweden. Sekiguchi was awarded a 2015 Artist Trust Fellowship and 2007 GAP grant as well as five 4Culture project grants. Other awards include a sculpture scholarship from Pratt Fine Arts Center and artist-in-residencies to Luang Prabang (Laos), the James and Janie Washington Foundation, and Willapa Bay AiR.
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