Presence and absence. Forgotten words and histories, persistent myths and legends. The language of life, the poetry of nature, and the cyclical rhythms of existence. The spaces in between. These are the subjects to which visual artist Miya Ando devotes her multifaceted practice. Raised between a Buddhist temple in the seaside town of Okayama (Southwest Japan) and Northern California’s Redwood Forest, Ando now lives and works in New York City, where she brings age-old materials--such as glass, washi paper, wood, and indigo—into meaningful dialogue with modern media, including steel and aluminum. The resulting works are both shockingly relevant and hauntingly enduring, encouraging us to think about the precarity of the world we inhabit while simultaneously reflecting on the long arc of time. Miya Ando: Sky Writing is paradigmatic in this regard. Created from resin, ink, dye, and silver on composite aluminum, the works in this exhibition are part of the artist’s Cloud series: visual meditations on the ephemerality of both atmospheric conditions and human existence. These works optically shift and change in the light, enhancing not just their materiality and physical beauty, but also their capacity to transport viewers to ethereal realms.
Miya Ando: Sky Writing is part of ArtLab @ the Lowe and has been curated by participating undergraduate students at the University of Miami. Uniting practice and theory, ArtLab enables the next generation of museum professionals to “learn by doing.” The program equally supports cultural exchange and global cooperation through an immersive, travel initiative, including a student trip to Tokyo (generously supported by Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their Kakehashi Program) in March 2024.
Click here for virtual exhibit
Click here for .pdf of catalogue
Sponsors:
Miya Ando: Sky Writing was made possible by the Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation; the Frank Family Charitable Foundation; Jane Hurt; Perri Lee Roberts; the Cardinal Four Foundation; Marie and Harley Lippman; Tracy Berkowitz; Gustavo and Lori Calleja; Lorraine Stassun; and Michael Troner. Additional funding was provided by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the City of Coral Gables; Beaux Arts Miami; and Lowe members.
Image:
Miya Ando, Evening Cloud (Yuugumo February 4, 2023 NYC 6:44 PM), 2023. Resin, dye, pure micronized silver, ink, urethane on aluminum composite, 41.5 x 41.5 x 1.5 inches (105.41 x 105.41 x 3.81 cm). © Miya Ando
