Situated between landscape painting and pattern-driven abstraction, Takako Yamaguchi’s new paintings at Ortuzar Projects in Tribeca are a beautiful and dynamic stylization of nature. This coastal scene features two swirls of clouds or waves, rising up to form an Ionic column over a tranquil sea. Below, the painting’s sense of space is complicated by a band of crisp wave forms while a glowing metal leaf triangle at top right further disrupts a realistic, 3-D rendering of space. Titled ‘Pivot,’ the painting’s constant perspectival shift rewards continued looking. (On view through June 13th).
Takako Yamaguchi, Pivot, oil and metal leaf on canvas, 60 x 40 inches, 2022.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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