Cris Worley Fine Arts in Dallas is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition, Nishiki Sugawara-Beda: Pot of Soot at the End of The Rainbow, which opens July 9th and runs through August 20th with an artist’s reception on Saturday, July 9th. The artist will also discuss and demonstrate the ancient technique of Sumi ink at 4pm on the evening of Saturday, July 9th. Please contact the gallery to RSVP, as availability is limited.

The artmaking process of Nishiki Sugawara-Beda requires prior mental preparation to achieve a meditative quality in her paintings. The enigmatic series of KuroKuroShiro (Black, Black, White) captivates the viewer by the interplay of the washes of light ink and bold brushwork alluding to the old masters of monochrome ink painting. Her inspiration is Zen artist and monk Sengai Gibon (1750-1837) recognized for a quick and evocative manner to express his religious views and playful attitude. Gibon’s statement that his “play with brush and ink is not calligraphy nor painting” reflects the Buddhist concept of emptiness as an expression for the ultimate truth. Sugawara-Beda explores the idea of emptiness, which is prolific and absolute, as the abstracted shapes generate multiple meanings from the essence of formlessness.

By using ink Sugawara-Beda discovered a more authentic expression of her personal feelings, a process that she described as kokoro no naka kara or ‘from the heart.’ The idea of bridging the spiritual world with the material one gives form to what arises from within. For example, she produces her own material of sumi ink made from soot and animal glue to return to the origins of traditional ink making and creates a link with the spirit of the object. Through a personal journey in this creative process, she connects with the heart and then transmits that feeling to paper and wood substrates. This approach appeals to Sugawara-Beda who cultivated her mindfulness to mark-making by engaging in such traditional Japanese activities as chadō (“the way of tea”), ikebana (“arranging flowers”), or shodō (“the way of writing” or calligraphy).