Leiko Ikemura
Lake Biwa Summer, 2019/20
Tempera on jute
150 x 100 cm
59 x 39 3/8 in
59 x 39 3/8 in
Leiko Ikemura’s atmospheric landscapes evoke the backdrop to a fairy tale, where the trees, sky and earth itself seem to be animated with a lifeforce. Lydia Yee comments, “Leiko Ikemura’s...
Leiko Ikemura’s atmospheric landscapes evoke the backdrop to a fairy tale, where the trees, sky and earth itself seem to be animated with a lifeforce.
Lydia Yee comments, “Leiko Ikemura’s trio of paintings 'Lake Biwa' (2019–20) draws inspiration from the landscape around the large freshwater lake near Kyoto, not far from where the artist was born. Yellow earth wraps around blue water, enveloping figures whose presence is signalled by energetic bursts of red. Drawing on both Eastern and Western painting traditions, Ikemura’s fluid, transcultural landscapes echo the natural cycle of life: ‘I like the rhythm of the landscape, it feels like waves. The earth is undulating, changing always’.”
Leiko Ikemura (b. 1955) lives and works in Berlin and Cologne. Widely exhibited across both Europe and Asia, recent solo exhibitions include 'Light on the Horizon', Heredium Museum, Daejeon, South Korea (2024); 'Momstars', CFA, Berlin (2024); 'Ai no Ayumi', Tsutaya Gallery, Kyoto (2023); 'Motion of Love', Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle (2023) and 'Witty Witches', Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin (2023).
Lydia Yee comments, “Leiko Ikemura’s trio of paintings 'Lake Biwa' (2019–20) draws inspiration from the landscape around the large freshwater lake near Kyoto, not far from where the artist was born. Yellow earth wraps around blue water, enveloping figures whose presence is signalled by energetic bursts of red. Drawing on both Eastern and Western painting traditions, Ikemura’s fluid, transcultural landscapes echo the natural cycle of life: ‘I like the rhythm of the landscape, it feels like waves. The earth is undulating, changing always’.”
Leiko Ikemura (b. 1955) lives and works in Berlin and Cologne. Widely exhibited across both Europe and Asia, recent solo exhibitions include 'Light on the Horizon', Heredium Museum, Daejeon, South Korea (2024); 'Momstars', CFA, Berlin (2024); 'Ai no Ayumi', Tsutaya Gallery, Kyoto (2023); 'Motion of Love', Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle (2023) and 'Witty Witches', Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin (2023).