"Walking on Water - Azurite" is Makoto Fujimura’s official entry for ArtPrize 2014 right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Acton Institute building! “Walking on Water” is a work of exceptional beauty; a visually and physically impressive 8 foot x 11 foot mineral pigment on polished gesso. Acton’s Prince Broekhuizen Gallery inside the DeVos Family Conference Center will also feature additional Fujimura works from his art series, “The Four Holy Gospels”.
In Mako’s presentation, he will discuss the process of creating “Walking on Water” using Nihonga materials (traditional Japanese painting technique), his journey toward the integration of his art with his faith, and a meditation on the March 11 Tsunami and the ongoing nuclear disaster in Japan. Make sure that you do not miss this event!
Artist's Statement:
Walking on Water – Azurite came about in response to the 3/11 tsunami in Japan. Just as I had done after 9/11, in responding to the 'Ground Zero' conditions with my paintings, I simply wanted to push my imagination to see the possibility of 'Walking on Water' to metaphorically move beyond the devastation power of water. The Golden Sea documentary documents the initial layers of azurite minerals being poured upon the polished gesso surface. The Walking on Water series were painted in the new Princeton studio, all meant as an elegy to the aforementioned 3/11 tsunami. As I attempted to complete the last of the three images, Walking on Water – Banquo’s Dream, Super-storm Sandy hit, wiping out some fifty of works at Dillon Gallery, my New York gallery. Thus the process of painting had become, literally, a way to ‘walk on water’.
About Makoto Fujimura
Makoto Fujimura is an artist, writer, and speaker who is recognized worldwide as a cultural shaper. A Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts from 2003-2009, Fujimura served as an international advocate for the arts, speaking with decision makers and advising governmental policies on the arts.
Fujimura’s work is exhibited at galleries around the world, including Dillon Gallery in New York, Sato Museum in Tokyo, The Contemporary Museum of Tokyo, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts Museum, Bentley Gallery in Arizona, Gallery Exit and Oxford House at Taikoo Place in Hong Kong, and Vienna’s Belvedere Museum. He is one of the first artists to paint live on stage at New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall as part of an ongoing collaboration with composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra.
A popular speaker, he has lectured at numerous conferences, universities and museums, including the Aspen Institute, Yale and Princeton Universities, Sato Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum. Fujimura founded the International Arts Movement in 1992, a non-profit whose “Encounter” conferences have featured cultural catalysts such as Dr. Elaine Scarry, Dennis Donoghue, Billy Collins, Dana Gioia, Calvin DeWitt and Miroslav Volf.
Fujimura’s second book, Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art and Culture, is a collection of essays bringing together people of all backgrounds in a conversation and meditation on culture, art, and humanity. In celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible, Crossway Publishing commissioned and published The Four Holy Gospels, featuring Fujimura’s illuminations of the sacred texts. His latest project, The Golden Sea, is a major mid-career project by Fujimura. It takes its name from a series of paintings by the artist, and in addition to painted works, the project comprises a published retrospective monograph containing images of his paintings with accompanying essays by leading critics and scholars and a biographical documentary film featuring interviews with Fujimura and his colleagues. It was featured at Acton University 2014 to rave reviews.
Learn More
Click here for more information on "Walking on Water"
Click here for more information on "The Four Gospels"
To learn more about the Fujimura Institute, please visit fujimurainstitute.org.
Follow Makoto Fujimura on Twitter @iamfujimura.
