Kazuko Inoue: Thirty Years of Painting

For Immediate Release:

KAZUKO INOUE: THIRTY YEARS OF PAINTING

Allan Stone Projects is pleased to present Kazuko Inoue: Thirty Years of Painting on view September 10 - October 24, 2015. Selected from the Allan Stone Collection, the exhibition surveys paintings and works on paper by the artist from 1979 to 2010 that demonstrate her devoted exploration of color. From the early pulsating works of varied hues to the later monochromatic grid paintings, Inoue’s development of paint application is evident in these kaleidoscopic yet interconnected series of works.

Often using a square format and focused on the supremacy of color, Inoue nods to the masters of early modern art such as Kasimir Malevich and Henri Matisse. According to the artist, the square provides “maximum purity and lyrical sensation,” acting as a confined arena where an assortment of tones play off of one another. Some of these early works contain multiple frameworks within themselves, camouflaged by thick layers of dappled paint. The juxtaposition between the structured layout and variation of color patterns results in a visually potent body of work.

In a few paintings from the mid 1980’s and 1990’s, Inoue dissolves the grid, exploring looser diagonal brushstrokes to create overall cascades. Thicker blocks of color arrangements comingle and offer a glimpse into the artist’s study of tonal relationships. In the later paintings of the 1990’s and 2000’s, the grid composition returns, becoming the subject of this series. Nuanced exchanges are formed between subtle hues of the same color within a nine or four-grid canvas. Multiple layers of different colored squares are divided by thin canals of color that expose the underlying layers beneath the surface as well as the tactile nature of the paint. These later paintings underscore the Minimalist aspects of Inoue's oeuvre that have been present all along.

Kazuko Inoue was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1946. She moved to the United States in the 1960s, and received her BFA and MFA from Michigan State University. A significant proponent of Inoue’s work, Allan Stone included the artist in many group exhibitions beginning in 1981 and gave her regular solo exhibitions until 2006. She has also received several solo and group exhibitions throughout the Northeast and Midwest. She is included in public and corporate collections such as the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Connecticut, the Newark Museum, New Jersey, the Mobil Oil Corporation and Bank of America. Inoue lives and works in Pennsylvania.