Meditating on cyclical aspects of creation and dissolution in the natural world, Destruction • Rejuvenation • Harmony, brings together clay and mixed media sculptures by Ruri and abstract sumi ink paintings by Satoko Motouji. 

 

Inspired by the wild forces of Nature and our parallel personal transformations, Ruri and Motouji seek out a harmony between both their work and the forces themselves. For Motouji, imbalances in nature caused by climate change are a catalyst for her art, which contrasts vast and pristine tracts of nature with the destructive results of wildfires. For Ruri transformations found in nature, including fire and decay, are a part of a rebirth that is simultaneously personal and universal. 

 

This elemental balance is reflected thematically, but also through the artists’ choice of materials. For Motouji the traditional sumi ink she uses is formed from soot, and her two-dimensional works are accompanied by installations of burnt paintings and photographs of nature. In Ruri’s work, hand formed clay is fired both in wood burning kilns and atmospheric kilns like anagama. Ruri’s synthesis of natural elements involves wood, fire, water, earth, air, and aether, and transforms clay into art that embody the interrelatedness and unity of her intent.

 

Despite challenging themes surrounding fire and anthropogenic climate change, as Destruction • Rejuvenation • Harmony moves towards its final theme of harmony, an unmistakable hope emerges. As Ruri and Motouji explore the cycles of nature, they remind us that regeneration is as unavoidable as destruction.