Solo Exhibition Opens with the Work of Japanese Artist, Shizuko Greenblatt - Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden (Members' Reception is Jan 13, 2018)NEW

A solo exhibition of Japanese artist, Shizuko Greenblatt, will open with a Members' Reception on January 13, 2018 in the En Gallery at the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden. The exhibition, Brushstrokes and Blooms: The Calligraphy and Ikebana of Shizuko Greenblatt, will run through April 13 and may be viewed during the garden's open hours or by appointment.

Shizuko Greenblatt was born into a samurai family and was trained in various artistic traditions including painting, calligraphy, sculpture and flower arrangement, in both Japan and the United States. Now based in Los Angeles, she has focused her artistic talents for the past 25 years on dynamic expressionistic paintings that incorporate both calligraphy and Japanese ikebana (flower arranging).

This new solo exhibition, featuring 20 works spanning the last decade of Greenblatt's calligraphic and floral fusion series, will unite bold and gentle works. In her calligraphic paintings, lively red brushstrokes wash over black strokes - echoed by pitch-black painted branches - in an abstract expressionistic subversion of traditional Japanese calligraphy. These contrast with more subdued works spotlighting single characters for “flower,” “grass,” “water” and “light,” in gentle tones, painted as though lit by moonlight.
 
"Shizuko Greenblatt's work complements the Storrier Stearns garden's gallery well," says Meher McArthur, Creative Director of the garden and curator of En Gallery. "Like this Japanese garden created in Southern California, her work is a fusion of Japanese and Western styles, and a blend of nature and spirituality, and also contains a refreshing element of surprise."  (Photos attached.)
 
Drawing from the energy of nature and Japanese cultural references, Greenblatt creates powerful mixed-media paintings, sculptures and installations that have been shown internationally. "I aim to activate and uplift the human soul," she explains, "by the transformed sculptural elements and traditional Japanese symbolism."
 
The works in this exhibition, and future exhibitions, will be for sale, and part of the proceeds will benefit the garden's educational and cultural programming.

Date
January 13, 2018: Members Reception

January 18 - April 13, 2018: The exhibit is open to the public during the garden's open hours.
Appointments are also available but everyone can see the Exhbit without an appointment.

Garden Hours
10 am - 4 pm

About the En Gallery at the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden
In Japanese, the word "en" written with one character can mean garden. Written with a different character (縁), "en" can signify the special, and often mysterious, bond that connects people. It also refers to the verandah - a space that exists between inside and outside. Located in the Meeting Room of the house looking out on the garden, the gallery features exhibitions of art relating to nature, spirituality, wellness and relationships. The exhibitions will spotlight work by artists from all around the world and in a range of diverse styles and will be curated by Meher McArthur, an Asian art historian and Creative Director of the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden.