Chicago artist Michiko Itatani recently visited the University of Wyoming Art Museum to see her two exhibits, ‘Infinite Hope’ and ‘High-Point Contact,’ on display for the first time since they were installed over six months ago.
“I’m very happy. This show has been going on since September. And I haven’t seen it, although I saw pictures. But right now, it’s very different from what you see in pictures,” Itatani said. “I’m pretty satisfied and very grateful and honored to have an opportunity to have this exhibition,”
Specific images on display in the UW art museum include ‘Cosmic Wanderlust’ and ‘Cosmic Returning’; both are part of the ‘High-Point Contact’ exhibit.
“ ‘High Point of Contact’ is [an] engineering term describing the two elements touching each other. I took it as a metaphor in examining the human relationships.”
In her other exhibit, ‘Infinite Hope,’ Itatani hopes to allow viewers to see the world in a new light, and wants to inspire people to consider how vast the world is around them and to take joy in living.
“I’m trying, to my efforts, to breed optimism and hope,” Itatani said.
Itatani was born in Osaka, Japan, and moved to the United States in 1970. Originally, her plan to move included becoming a writer, not a painter.
“I wanted [to be] a fiction writer. But I was very young and very immature. So I wanted to have more credibility in my story. So somebody suggested that you go somewhere you have never been before, do something you have never done before,” Itatani said.
That is when Itatani said she knew it was time to begin making art.
“After 15 years, I’ve made more paintings than writing,” she said.
Itatani held a talk at the art museum on Thursday, March 30, to discuss her painting process in depth. The UW dance department performed an interpretive dance based on her work the following day to show their appreciation for the exhibit and draw in crowds to view Itatani’s art.
