March 10, 2022

New Artist Picks: Wall Project
Murakami Saki | Stray Child
March 12 (Sat.)- November 6 (Sun.), 2022
Construction Wall, Yokohama Museum of Art

Yokohama Museum of Art

Murakami Saki, Stray Child, 2022
lift-ground etching, aquatint and spit bite, 118×150cm
Photo: Suemasa Mareo

Aimed at introducing the work of promising young artists, the Yokohama Museum ofArt’s “New Artist Picks” series has been held since 2007 in the Art Galleries and other spaces
within the museum.
With the museum now closed for renovations, two special “Wall Project” editions ofthe series will be held to present the work of young artists on the construction wall facing Art
Square in Grand Mall Park in front of the Yokohama Museum of Art.

In the first installment, we will introduce thework of Murakami Saki (born 1992), who works primarily incopperplate print. Murakami’s work depicts motifs bornfrom her personal memories and traumas using techniquessuch as lift ground etching, whereby lines are corroded in
the copperplate by applying poster colors by brush.
Murakami sees her production as an act of“scarring the copper plate” and states that “the lines
Murakami Saki, Poison, 2018
lift-ground etching, aquatint and spit bite (color),
118×150cm
Photo: Saigo Shin’ichiro

engraved on the copper plate are scars in the heart, the ink
that fills them is blood, and the paper placed on top is thebandage.” The work’s simplistic appearance belies afoundation of raw emotion, the artist’s fear, resentment, desireand love for modern society. Another characteristic of the work is that animals such as dogs,
horses, birds and insects are central motifs. While animals are portrayed as threats to humans,
they also appear as close allies with whom pain is shared. In this way, Murakami's work does notjust depict trauma, but is an attempt to heal it.
In this project, a total of 18 works, including two new works and 16 produced
between 2015 and 2021, will be shown. As we seek out new ways of living based on theexperience of the pandemic, Murakami's themes of death and rebirth, and human-animal
relationships remind us of the importance of recognizing weaknesses and of engaging the world
with a sense of humility.

Biography
Murakami SakiBorn in 1992, Gunma Prefecture. After graduatingfrom Musashino Art University with a degree inPrintmaking, she completed the master’s program atthe Graduate School of Fine Art Course (Printmaking)at Musashino Art University. Her recent exhibitions
include solo exhibition “gone girl” at Ueda City
Museum of Art, Nagano (2019), and group exhibition“Chaosmos 6: Into the Silent Spring” at Sakura City
Museum of Art, Chiba (2021).

Murakami Saki, Cover, 2016
lift-ground etching, etching, aquatint and spit bite (color)
118×150cm
Photo: Saigo Shin’ichiro
Murakami Saki, Record, 2019
lift-ground etching, etching and aquatint
150×118cm
Photo: Saigo Shin’ichiro

Murakami Saki, Dance, 2021
lift-ground etching, aquatint and spit bite
150×118cm
Photo: Suemasa MareoOutline
New Artist Picks: Wall Project

Murakami Saki | Stray Child

Dates:March 12 (Sat.) – November 6 (Sun.), 2022

Venue:

Construction Wall, Yokohama Museum of Art

Admission:Free

Organized by:

Yokohama Museum of Art (Yokohama Arts Foundation)

In Cooperation with:

Gallery Kobayashi

Contact
Fujii(Ms.), Umezawa(Ms.)
Public Relations, Yokohama Museum of Art
Yokohama Museum of Art Temporary, Office PLOT 48, 4-3-1 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama,Kanagawa, 220-0012, Japan
TEL:+81(0)45 221 0319

FAX:+81(0)45 221 0317

E-mail: pr-yma@yaf.or.jp*Yokohama Museum of Art is closed for renovation. We are scheduled to re-open in fiscal 2023.