1. Leiko Ikemura

Usagi Greeting (180)
in front of the library (Hondsmarkt 2)

Leiko Ikemura is an internationally celebrated and established Japanese-Swiss artist based in Berlin. Originally from Tsu in Mie Prefecture, Japan, Ikemura studied painting in Seville, Spain before moving to Switzerland and then Germany. She combines Eastern and Western art and explores themes such as hybridity, interculturality, sexuality and the life cycle. Working at the intersection of abstraction and figuration, she moves fluidly between media and imbues her pieces with raw energy and emotion. By blurring the line between species, between inner and outer worlds, Ikemura encourages the viewer to discover mysteries in her stories and transform them into something fantastic or, on the contrary, to keep them within the confines of reality. The materials used by the artist, such as bronze, clay and pigment, are closely linked to the earth and emphasize the aspect of man as part of nature.

Among other mythical creatures, the 'Usagi' (Japanese for rabbit) is one of Ikemura's best-known and most widely used motifs. In various cultures, the animal is a symbol of fertility and renewal. Ikemura's large-scale bronze sculpture 'Usagi Greeting' (or 'Rabbit Bodhisattva of Mercy') invites visitors to seek shelter in his baggy robe. The work offers different possibilities of association and ambiguity for those who seek meaning as a hybrid being of mercy and hope.

Ikemura's work has been presented at the Tokyo Biennale (1988) and the Melbourne Biennale (1999). She had solo exhibitions at Sainsbury's Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich (2021); Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Valencia (2021); Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein (2002); The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2011); and Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel (2019). Her works can be found at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, among others; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Fundación Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos, Spain; The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan; MOMAT-The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan; MAC's -Musée des Arts Contemporains, Grand-Hornu, Belgium; Sainsbury's Centre for Fine Arts, Norwich, UK; Kunstmuseum Ahrenshoop, Ahrenshoop, Germany; Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, USA; Museum of Ostasian Art Köln, Cologne, Germany; Neues Museum Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany and Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

www.leiko.info

Gemeente Puurs-Sint-Amands