The artist Motoko has her studio and gallery on a scenic, out-of-the-way byroad of Garden Bay. Yet many fans of her art came from all over the Coast to her door last weekend for the opening reception of a show of new work that runs until the end of August (formerly listed as running until Aug. 14). Guests mingled in the gallery to view the extensive new collection and to listen to the piano music of Kenneth Norman Johnson. Included in her guests were eight of the Eleven Equal Artists who will open their own show, the Power of Paint, this weekend.
“I feel very honoured to have such warm support from other Coast artists,” Motoko said.
She was born and raised in Japan, immigrating to Canada when she was 29. In her artist’s statement she writes that the philosophy of Zen influenced her cultural and artistic background. Her abstract paintings employ Zen principles: they suggest rather than fill in the spaces, they are asymmetrical as is found in nature and there are no extraneous strokes. There is an overlying harmony to the composition, but it is her use of colour in this new work that dominates: icy blues, vivid reds and some of her signature moss green.
After a trip to Tzoonie Lake at the northern end of Narrows Inlet, she was inspired to paint Blue Cascade. She describes the water as crisp and clear and she was in awe of the glacier-fed waterfall. The viewer does not see the waterfall as such, yet the essence is there in the painting. Similarly in Blue Aqua 1 and 2, Motoko manages to capture the immensity of a mountain landscape covered by a suggestion of snow or mist.
The colour palette switches from blues to reds when she describes emotions. The Force of Love so mysterious and so intense is rendered in vivid red, while another piece, Ardour, speaks of the passion and energy of love. Other paintings, such as Earth to Sky, are rendered in colours that remind the viewer of the fiery flares of the sun.
The gallery is open daily in August from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 4590 Sinclair Bay Road, Garden Bay, and the rest of the year by appointment. See www.motoko.ca for more information.
