Asian artists find acceptance at local art museum

Kimberley McGee

Friday, June 15, 2001 | 9:06 a.m.

The art crowding the white walls of the Las Vegas Art Museum portrays Arabic, Buddhist and impressionist influences.

It is a sample of works from Asian artists in the museum's "Asian Art Now 2001" exhibit which runs through July 15.

"It's a break from tradition, totally, in a show like this," James Mann, curator of the museum, said. "Anything you can think of, (Asian artists) will try it."

Wood carvings, plaster silhouettes of the female form and molded clay sculptures are a few of the pieces representing the varying styles of Asian artists displayed at LVAM.

The exhibit features 130 artists from six countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Thailand.

It is the second annual show that the museum has collaborated with the Asian Cultural Exchange Association of Japan.

Etsuko Abe, interpreter and president of the ACE association, said the partnership with LVAM ensures that young artists in Asia can be viewed by the rest of the world.

"In Asian countries there are few chances for young artists to be seen," Abe said. "There are not the opportunities."

Elder artists and the Asian public tend to discriminate against young, unknown artists, Abe said.

"Here (in the United States) age and position do not matter," Abe said.

Letsu Sugiyama, a revered artist in Japan and member of the association, is quiet about his accomplishments.

"An artist does not value the past," Sugiyama said. "They live in the now, for the future."

Sugiyama's art can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and other museums around the world. The White House also has a piece in its collection.

His accomplishments in the art world are meant to inspire, he said.

As an older artist in his 60s, he has seen younger artists discriminated against by those in the Japanese art world.

"This (exhibit) is for the younger artists," Sugiyama said. "They are not given this (opportunity) in Japan."

Artist Masahiro Suzuki agrees.

Suzuki's two pieces, "Fu," are placed at the entrance of the exhibit. It is the prime display area that is reserved for those who have proven their dedication to art, as well as to explain the purpose of the exhibit -- cultural exchange.

"He has been (important) to bringing the exhibit together," Abe said. "This (position) honors him."

This is the second year that Suzuki, who was born in Tokyo in 1944, has exhibited his art at LVAM.

His art mixes simple, symbolic elements of nature, such as the movement of water and clouds across the sky.

"It is very meaningful, Zen," Suzuki said through his interpreter, Abe.

Kiyokazu Itou's bold paintings, in deep reds and purples, were chosen specifically for an American audience.

Itou had studied Western art and was influenced as a young artist. Over the years his art has evolved to include the art styles he has learned, which he has combined with his Japanese origins.

"Each line is meaningful in Japanese art," Itou said through the interpreter, as his hand followed lines drawn deeply into the thick paint of his large paintings.

His two paintings, both labeled "Tura," which means "Face," were what he thought a world audience of art enthusiasts would react to and understand.

"These paintings were chosen for (being) very powerful," Itou said.

Itou said that as the "Asian Art Now" exhibit gains in popularity it will be an outlet for struggling Asian artists.

"Younger art people seldom have a chance to see their works evaluated" in a museum atmosphere, Itou said.

Abe said the exhibit includes a few more countries than last year and the association hopes to double that number by next year.

"The Japanese art world is limited," Abe said. "This is our opportunity to (expand) that."