TRANSFIGURATIONS: A JAPANESE-MEXICAN INTERPRETATION OF REALITY

(San Miguel de Allende, Gto.  Saturday, November 3, 2007).  In a rare exhibit by a Japanese artist living in Mexico, Galeria/Atelier presents Eiki Ito’s visionary new show Transfigurations at Fábrica La Aurora, November 3 through December 8.

After completing an eight year art education at the Shinjuku Art Academy and the Soukei Academy of Fine Art & Design in Tokyo to receive a masters in Painting, Eiki Ito journeyed to Mexico at the age of 28 (31 years ago).  His visit turned to a lifetime, when in San Miguel his path fortuitously crossed with a young woman name Dolores, who would soon become his wife. The couple lived in San Miguel briefly, but eventually settled in Dolores’ home town of Leon where they continue to live and work today.

Eiki is now as much Mexican as he is Japanese. Having been taken by Mexican folklore and immersed in the Mexican way of life, a cultural dichotomy is unmistakably reflected in his artwork.  The landscapes in much of Eiki’s work recall the works of Mexican painter Dr. Atl.  Eiki’s is also influenced by styles as diverse as those of Japanese artist Misao Yakoyama’s volcanoes, Henri Rousseau’s scenes of exotic lands, and Remedios Varo’s fascination with Pre-Columbian cultures mixed with European tendencies. 

To fully be able to admire Eiki’s artwork, one must also have an understanding of Japanese art history and a perspective of Japan’s rich, but strict cultural heritage that allowed for little deviation or variation in subject matter and style for centuries.  It was only really until the 1923 Tokyo Earthquake devastated and completely changed the city, leading to the subsequent rise of a new middle-class, that subject matter started to change.  Japanese artist, Murayama Tomoyoshi, began applying Russian constructivism in his own way to his avant-garde art that extracted conflicts and episodes from urban life in service of an artist revolution. Prewar avant-garde art had two major trends: surrealism and abstract expressionism; it was also primarily proletarian. An increasing number of artists were able to now study and live abroad in Paris and New York and their works displayed some characteristics free from restraint of national boundaries and set the stage for the next generation to move out even further. From the late 1960s when the mood for changes of the society and consciousness heightened, artists began extensively incorporating in their works letters, signs, photographic images, and natural objects such as stones, trees, and water. In the 1970s, it seemed that paintings and sculptures in traditional forms disappeared from the center stage of contemporary art. It was only in the late 1970s that, as artists tried to reconsider the meaning of the act of producing art, the space of the painting deepened and revived, and sculpture resurfaced. At the time artists focused primarily on achievements after the 1980s: paintings, sculptures, and photographs aiming at disclosing, through presentation of pure forms, the "depth" of visual experience as the space where various functions of consciousness, such as memory, association, and language, entangle each other.¹

While it would be tempting to refer to Eiki’s art as surrealist, comparing him to Dali or Bosch would be incorrect, as surrealism belongs to another time and Bosch’s themes of hell and sin are not themes important to Eiki.  To answer where Eiki draws his inspiration from is to answer something the artist himself does not know.  Eiki works transfixed, in a sort of subconscious purging, not knowing what he will draw until his pencil or charcoal touches the surface of the paper or canvas.  Some recurrent themes such as horses, however, point to obsessions in Eiki’s life.  Eiki is an avid horseman, raising and training jumping horses to compete at an international level.  He also employs his artistic talents in producing a line of unique artisan cowboy and riding boots which are sold internationally.

It is rare for Eiki to show outside of museums, so don’t miss this opportunity to see and collect his remarkable work in this special San Miguel showing.  For more information, contact the gallery at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

¹The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo