Maki Fine Arts is pleased to present a solo show by Shu Ikeda--"From the Bloom to the Blank"-- starting Saturday, September 22 through Saturday, October 20, 2012. By cutting out photos to produce alternative shapes, voids, and shadows, Ikeda has been presenting two-dimensional works that traverse between painting and photography. Ikeda was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1979 and currently produces his work in Tokyo. In his second exhibition with Maki Fine Arts, Ikeda will present 11 brand new works that are suggestive of the direction of his future work and reflecting the artist's strong sense of structural "blankness."

One guide I use to decide when my work has reached completion is a harmonious balance between the photo that has been cut and the voids created by the cuts. To me, a void represents light, space, and nothingness. It's what stirs up my imagination. I strive to mesh together the photograph that is the image and the voids to form a solid relationship.
Along with the finished and framed works installed in the gallery, I will be presenting a demonstration of my work process during the show: from cutting the photographs to final installation. In this demonstration, I will be treating the white gallery walls as blank space and attempt to seek out what a work of art should be.
by Shu Ikeda