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DILLON GALLERY ‘MA’ Nihonga

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NEW YORK CITY — In honor of “New York: Asia Week,” Dillon Gallery is featuring the work of eight contemporary Nihonga painters from Japan through April 22. An opening reception will take place Thursday, April 3, from 6 to 8 pm.

The exhibition, “Ma,” meaning an interval of space and time, is focused on the broad artistic stratagems used to master compositional space. Finding a distinctive way to pay homage to their heritage, each artist included in this exhibition expands the expressive vocabulary found within the long tradition of Nihonga, Japanese-style painting.

Bando, Saito and Kanewaka are able to craft an atmosphere of ethereality in their work. Using large swathes of muted color, Nakamura creates a sense of depth and movement in his abstract compositions. Yoshiga’s semitransparent scrolls possess a modern monumentality, and Okamura celebrates nature and the abstract concept of harmony with embroidery and Sumi ink.

Kouzaki shares his vision of a utopia; one that includes unusual creatures inhabiting a bizarre, and vast, continual expanse of space. Takishita’s canvases pronounce a playful spirit and lively sensibility that are both alive and well in the art of Nihonga. While recognizing the conventional principles of the respected technique of Nihonga painting, each artist strives to redefine this ancient art practice.

Nihonga is a technique whose roots extend back more than a thousand years. The term, created in the Nineteenth Century to distinguish traditional painting methods from Western-influenced art, has often been synonymous with art of the past. Its practitioners incorporate time-honored materials such as silk, rice paper, ground semiprecious minerals, as well as gold and silver leaf into their paintings.

Dillon Gallery is at 555 West 25th Street. For information, www.dillongallery.com or 212-727-8585.