Yumiko Hirokawa Dear America
October 2 - November 13, 2021
Click here to read The Washington Post review by Mark Jenkins Nov 3, 2021
“I think the time of 2017 is a brilliant page for the people of Washington, DC.
Cross your shoulders, make a loud voice, and raise each sign.
It was a great democratic march.
The pandemic makes it very difficult for us to do so.
Pandemic divide us and make us feel very lonely and powerless.
That's why I want to paint the time of women's march and cheer up those who see my paintings.” Yumi
Yumiko Hirokawa was born and grew up in Osaka, Japan. Yumiko is a 2003 graduate of the Corcoran Collage of Arts and Design. She also graduated the Doshisha University in Japan. She has exhibited her art in Japan, China, Korea, and the US. Her work is housed in the collection of Ninbo Museum of Art in Ninbo, China. As a student at The Corcoran at the time of the September 11th attack that event has been a major influence on the direction of her art. Her art is a prayer for the many people who have suffered from disasters and conflicts around the world. A number of her paintings in the past year are based on the theme of the Women's March 2017. She has painted scenes of modern society using aluminum leaf.
Now she lives and works in New York. Website: www.yumiko-hirokawa.com
Yumiko Hirokawa Statement
I am an immigrant in a broad sense. I have difficulties of living in a foreign country if not a level of refugees. I also have much joy as a foreigner. I will exhibit a painting of a refugee ship. I came to Washington DC in 2000. I had no friends and couldn't speak English. But I got on the metro and went to grocery stores here and there. In this exhibition, there are four works. Each work has words in it. I made friends at the EFL class in Georgetown University, and at Corcoran. There is also one sentence that I heard at Corcoran's commencement. When I was a student in Corcoran, there was 9/11. This had a big impact on my works. There are four works of Survivor tree painted this year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. That's why I lit the candles, it also means to mourn the victims of Covid-19. I started using Leaf in Mira's class at Corcoran. At first, I painted many kinds of things. But after seeing Women's March, I thought I witnessed the wonderful democracy of America, and I continue to paint this March. There are many Women's March paintings in this exhibition. At last, I made 2 paintings of the Potomac River. I painted it only in white. I used to go for a walk in Georgetown from my apartment and loved eating muffins and watching Potomac. Although the river never ceases to flow, the passing water is never the same. As an "immigrant" in an era of diversity, I have spent time in the United States. I made these works of what I've been feeling here.
