ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — A photography exhibition by Japanese artist Etsuko Yuasa opens Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University.
The exhibition, titled “Visual Poetry,” will be accompanied by poems written by Etsuko, which will be exhibited in both Japanese and English.
The opening will include a 4 p.m. lecture by the artist in the Quick Center’s Rigas Theater. The lecture is free and open to the public.
The daughter of famed cinematographer Kazutami Hara, Etsuko’s early years were filled with art, especially drawing and painting. As a teen, she developed interests in film, oil painting and design, but it was through still photography that she thought she could best express herself.
She enrolled at Tokyo Polytechnic University in 1982, and a year later visited Los Angeles as part of a photographic thesis project. She was captivated by the American lifestyle and way of thinking.
After school, Etsuko spent eight years as a photograph coordinator in the commercial photo industry, but became interested in the stylist aspects of photography. In time, she changed her focus from photography to being an independent stylist, working with TV and film celebrities to help bring together the “look” for a photo shoot.
Later, she would refocus on photography while continuing to be a force in the stylist industry.
The curator for this exhibition is Chisato “Kitty” O. Dubreuil, assistant professor of art history at St. Bonaventure, who pursued the project after a chance meeting she had with the artist outside Tokyo’s Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in 2010. Dubreuil was with her husband, David, a former commercial photographer, who saw Etsuko with a camera and struck up a conversation.
The acquaintance turned into a long-distance friendship, and on a return visit to Japan last year, Dubreuil invited Etsuko to exhibit her work at St. Bonaventure.
“Her photographic work grabbed our hearts,” said Dubreuil. “They illuminated small glimpses of everyday lives, which most people don’t pay attention to. She is an extraordinary talent. She brings me back to the quiet times of the past, and I wanted to bring her work to America.”
The exhibition, Etsuko’s first in the West, is housed in the Quick Center’s Kenney Gallery and runs through March 11.
Quick Center galleries are open to the public at no charge from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
For more, visit www.sbu.edu/quickcenter.
About the University: Inspired for more than 150 years by the Catholic Franciscan values of individual dignity, community inclusiveness, and service, St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them.