Artist Conversation #5

Artist: Kiyomi Fukui

Exhibition: Max L. Gatov Gallery Wes

Media: Plants, Paper Molds, Seeds

Website: kiyomifukui.com

Fiyomi Fukui is a Japanese-American artist that lives and works in Long Beach, CA and that focuses on projects that involves others participation to create art. Much of her art is autobiographical as she creates art based on her life like her relationship with her father and the passing of her mother. She received an MFA in Printmaking from California State University Long Beach and a BFA in Graphic Design from La Sierra University.

This art consisted of medians that aren’t “typical” for art. Fukui used seeds and molds of her mom’s and her own thumb to create a garden which she planted outside and into pots at an art gallery. Her art is large as it expands from each plant to the other in different pots and it consists of mostly green colors from the plants that grew. It is also small however because you would have to look in more closely to examine the molds and seeds sprouting as well as the texture of everything. It had a calm rhythm because the plants were fragile and and small. The texture varied because the plants, soil, and pots were all different but they all had a sort of soft texture when working as one.

This project was about her mother and how she wanted her mom to spread into others’ lives through the roots after her mother passed from cancer. She took molds of paper of her mom’s thumb and planted seeds inside to represent rebirth and the cycle of life. As an individual who is into the idea of printmaking and likes the ideas of multiples, she had many thumb molds because it would allow for her mother to spread more as she discussed being part of the concepts of the project. This project was something that helped her deal with the loss of her mother and it explored the ideas of loss but growth through a healing process like this where further feelings were produced by doing a daily activity like gardening.

To me, this project was important because I viewed it as a very efficient and creative way of dealing with the loss of a loved one. I thought it was beautiful because it was a way for her mother to continue living in not only her life but in the lives of others as well. I enjoy plants as well because I feel like each one has their own personality and just like the plants reminded her of her mother, the ones I have belong to my grandma who lives in Mexico so for me they serve a similar purpose of them being close to me. The calmness and fragility of the plant from the formal nature of the work and her ideas are something that resonate with me because those are things that remind me of my grandma and make it feel like she were here with me.