Madison Gallery - Modern and Contemporary Art | Art Gallery La Jolla

MIYA ANDO

In my work, I create quiet, abstract, meditative environments. Ultimately I am interested in the study of subtraction to the point of purity, simplicity and refinement. I am Japanese and Russian-American, a descendant of Bizen swordmaker Ando Yoshiro Masakatsu and was raised between two worlds: among sword smiths-turned Buddhist priests in a Buddhist temple in Okayama, Japan and amongst the redwoods in coastal Santa Cruz, California . My familial history, spiritual and philosophical pursuits deeply inform every aspect of my work. I am influenced by meditation, nature, geometry and the ethos and aesthetics of Zen Reductivism. The foundation of my studio practice is based on the transformation of surfaces, focusing to create works with light and metals. I have a deep appreciation for the dynamic properties of metal and its ability to reflect light. Metal simultaneously conveys strength and permanence and yet in the same instant can appear delicate, fragile, luminous, soft, ethereal. The medium becomes both a contradiction and juxtaposition for expressing notions of evanescence, including ideas such as the transitory and ephemeral nature of all things, quietude and the underlying impermanence of everything.

Recently my work has combined 2D and 3D pieces into installations of transformative minimal spaces and environments. These contemplative, luminous voids are at once empty and serene, while also alive, filled with potential and possibility. In these new installations, I invite the viewer into a meditative space, and it is my hope that these spaces inspire introspection, reflection and solace. I have recently completed the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 public commission, created from 30 foot sections of World Trade Center Steel, which was unveiled September 5th in London by Mayor Boris Johnson. For this work, I left the steel unchanged in form but polished part of the material into a highly refined, mirror finish which reflected light. This piece was published in The New York Times, BBC, ABC News, CNN, NHK, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and multiple domestic and International publications. My intention is to put forth quiet and transcendent environments which come from a place of sincerity and compassion.

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