Galleries / Museums

The San Francisco Asian Art Museum presents Japanese tattoo art during its October MATCHA series.

Author and tattoo artist Takahiro Kitamura (artist name Horitaka, apprentice to the revered Japanese master Horiyoshi III) will give a talk about the centuries-old art of traditional Japanese tattooing.

See live demonstrations of Japanese-style tattooing by various tattoo artists using both traditional and modern techniques.

NAPA — The Oxbow School, a studio-art-based semester program in Napa, is presenting its fall visiting artist lecture series.

Japanese-born Mineko Grimmer offers her perspectives on art and design on Monday, Sept. 22, at Copia Auditorium, 500 1st St. in Napa, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Grimmer, born in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, in 1949, received a B.A. from Iwate University. While working as a commercial artist, she moved to Los Angeles, where she earned a BFA and MFA from the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design.

An exhibit of gyotaku (fish prints) by artist Chris Dewees will be on display from Sept. 4 to Oct. 16 at the Consulate General of Japan's Japan Information Center, 50 Fremont St. (at Mission), Suite 2200, in San Francisco.

Admission is free. Exhibit hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed from 12 noon to 1 p.m.). An opening reception will be held Thursday, Sept. 4, from 6 to 7:50 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.).

HANFORD — "The Hidden Code of Animals in Japanese Art" will open Tuesday, Sept. 2, and run through Nov. 15 at the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture, 15770 10th Ave. in Hanford.

The gallery is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. and is closed on national holidays.

The Art People gallery at San Francisco’s Crocker Galleria, 50 Post St., is presenting a show titled “Persephone.” One of the artists featured is Ryosuke Hachiya, a Japanese student studying in San Francisco, whose background is as unique as the pieces he creates.

Hachiya, who is originally from Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture, graduated from high school in Arizona and then moved to New York to go to college. He was originally a chemistry major but along the way he decided to pursue his love of art and began studying it.

by LEFTERIS KAFATOS
Hokubei Mainichi

San Francisco's Asian Art Museum has a new director, and his name is Jay Xu. The Hokubei met with the energetic director on July 31 to talk about his background, his inspirations, and vision for the prestigious museum.

Today is the opening day in Los Angeles for an innovative architecture exhibit, "Voussoir Cloud," created by San Francisco-based IwamotoScott Architecture.

The exhibit is the product of architects Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott, whose studio worked with the engineering firm Buro Happold and students from Southern California Institute of Architecture. The structure they created artfully combines ancient building techniques with new designs and materials.

SAN PABLO — The San Pablo Arts Gallery, located in Maple Hall, 13831 San Pablo Ave., will present "3 2 C Now," an exhibit of works by Betty Nobue Kano, Karen Chin and Byron Spicer, from Aug. 2 to Sept. 28.

An opening reception will be held Saturday, Aug. 2, from 1 to 3 p.m. The gallery is open Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. and by appointment.

For more information, call Anne Austin at (510) 836-2663 or visit www.ci.san-pablo.ca.us/main/artgallery.htm.

BODEGA BAY — The Ren Brown Collection is holding a new art exhibit titled “Visualizations” at its gallery, located at 1781 Coast Highway One, Bodega Bay, until Sept. 7.

The gallery, which traditionally focuses on contemporary Japanese prints, antique Japanese furnishings, and the works of California artists, is featuring the works of Ellen Yamada Tzvetin and Yuko Kimura.

by BARBARA HIURA
Hokubei Mainichi

SAN JOSE — The new and expanded Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) is beginning to take shape, with most of the outside framing completed.

The building being constructed on 5th Street in Japantown will replace the former home of Dr. Tokio Ishikawa, which housed the museum for eight years. The home was razed last December.

“We’re right on target,” said Jimi Yamaichi, project supervisor for JAMsj. “We’re pushing hard to have it completed for its grand opening sometime in mid-January.”