Jareh Das on Ulala Imai |

In the Gallery | Xavier Hufkens

In this new video, curator and art critic Dr. Jareh Das discusses Ulala Imai's solo exhibition "MEMORY" at the gallery (21 September 2023—4 November 2023). “There's usually quite a distinct separation between the home and the studio, between being an artist and being part of a family or a mother. But in Ulala's works, all of these worlds collide. There’s a complete collapse and a non-hierarchical way of thinking about these relationships, which is evident in her paintings, in the choice of what she chooses to paint, in the way she works, in the way that home life bleeds into a painting practice.” — Dr. Jareh Das Ulala Imai (b. 1982, Kanagawa, Japan) Ulala Imai, a third-generation artist in her family, is known for her paintings in which everyday objects are transformed into enigmatic scenes charged with a sense of intimacy. Her use of popular culture iconography, which she depicts across a variety of genres such as—still life, portraiture, landscape, historic and narrative painting—distinguishes her unique body of work. In search of the motifs, Imai turns to her everyday life, which allows “the motifs themselves to be understood as an autobiography.” Always having worked from home, and in close proximity to her father, husband and children, her domestic milieu serves as the primary source of inspiration. Dr Jareh Das is a researcher, writer, independent curator and (occasional) florist who lives and works between West Africa/the UK. Her interests in (global) modern and contemporary art are cross-disciplinary, although her understanding is filtered through the lens of performance art which informs both her academic and curatorial work. More on the artist: https://www.xavierhufkens.com/artists... More on the exhibition: https://www.xavierhufkens.com/exhibit...

Guglielmo Castelli, Chase Hall, Ulala Imai, Stanislava Kovalcikova, Zeinab Saleh, and Issy Wood

A Lover’s Discourse is a new series of artist-led presentations at the Aspen Art Museum introducing unexpected dialogues between artworks from different generations. Each exhibition juxtaposes recent works by an early-career artist who also selects a companion piece borrowed from private collections in Aspen spanning historical and contemporary pieces across figurative and abstract painting, sculpture, video, works on paper, sound. 

The final displays give form to powerful pairings that speak to the complexity of intergenerational, cross-cultural connections, as entering in conversation with the past to reflect on the present is essentially a non-linear pursuit. As part of the development of their final presentations, the artists engage in investigations into cultural influence and meaning, boundaries of media and methodologies of production that lead to new questions rather than answers in regard to their own practice and the contemporary artistic discourse more broadly. 

Driven by a dialogic approach, the title of the program is inspired by Roland Barthes’ A Lover’s Discourse (1977) in which the author embarks on a fragmented philosophical exploration of love as an emotional language – from absence to drama, from fulfillment to waiting, dedication and embrace. 

A Lover’s Discourse is curated by AAM Curator at Large Stella Bottai 

Artist: Part 2: 

Hayley Barker, Ulala Imai, Sarah Lee, GaHee Park and Michaela Yearwood-Dan
Curator: Dr. Jareh Das
Opening: July 29, 2023
Duration: July 30 – September 7, 2023
Location: 2555-4 Longteng Avenue, Shanghai

PUBLIC PRIVATE is a two-part exhibition project presenting a range of perspectives and positions on contemporary painting. Formal techniques and conservative approaches are disrupted, showcasing a new and individual language for contemporary painting reimagined by the artists on view.

This showcase of the contributions by a generation of international artists highlights disruptions of classical conventions in painting genres with this second part dedicated to still life, landscape, and abstraction. 

The curatorial framework collapses genres and rigid classification to reimagine painting as a space for fluidity and transformation. Contemporary painting is presented here as an expansive field where tradition is redefined by painters across different geographies at this this present moment in our history.

PUBLIC PRIVATE is curated by Dr. Jareh Das and organised in collaboration with art advisor, Irina Stark, and additional support from the team at Pond Society.

HIGH ART X NONAKA HILL

BLUE WIND

ZENZABURO KOJIMA

DAISUKE FUKUNAGA

ULALA IMAI

HIROSHI SUGITO

29.04 – 08.07.2023

PRESS RELEASE

Art Basel Hong Kong
Convention & Exhibition Centre
1 Harbour Road
Wan Chai
Hong Kong, China

Karma is pleased to participate in Art Basel Hong Kong 2023, presenting works by Henni Alftan, Dike Blair, Will Boone, Peter Bradley, Andrew Cranston, Ann Craven, Verne Dawson, Jane Dickson, Lynne Drexler, Marley Freeman, Peter Halley, Reggie Burrows Hodges, Ulala Imai, Keith Mayerson, Thaddeus Mosley, Maja Ruznic, Mungo Thomson, Tabboo!, Ouattara Watts, Matthew Wong, Jonas Wood, Xiao Jiang, and Manoucher Yektai.

Fort Mason Center 2 Marina Blvd. San Francisco

Booth: 110 Nonaka-Hill and Ratio 3, San Fransisco

https://www.fogfair.com

Nonaka-Hill and Ratio 3 are pleased to present a joint booth. Nonaka-Hill is exhibiting the sculptural ceramics of Hosai Matsubayashi XVI and Masaomi Yasunaga with paintings by Ulala Imai and Zenzaburo Kojima. Ratio 3 will exhibit works by Nobuyoshi Araki, Nobuya Hoki, Daido Moriyama and James Sterling Pitt.o, CA 94123 , January 19 - 22, 2023