Wednesday
Living Images: Etsuko Ichikawa’s Ephemeral Eternal

All of her works are essentially glass pyrographs—images burned onto wood or paper using heated molten glass. This process is almost as interesting to watch as seeing the pieces themselves. A popular stop at the Davidson Contemporary was a small DVD player on a stand that plays a video created by Ian Lucero of Ichikawa at work. This is a great supplement to the pieces in that it shows the artist’s intense control over her craft. She has to deliberately wrangle fire with nothing but her own breath in order to create powerful images. The idea of breath is also important because it offers a great explanation as to why her pieces seem to be ever moving. Breath is constant within her work. An ever-present bubble of orange glass is necessary for the creation process, the use of her own exhalations burning art onto the page. Continue…