Lydia OkumuraPortfolio

COVER, LYDIA OKUMURA, UNTITLED I, 1981

Lydia Okumura (b. 1948, Brazil) is a postmodern artist working across the disciplines of installation, painting, drawing, and photography. Widely known for her powerful conceptual installations that mimic the planes of origami, Okumura folds and unfolds the world around her, shifting the nature of vision and the notion of multi-dimensionality both physically and ontologically.

Lydia grew up in Brazil as the child of Japanese immigrants. She studied Portuguese in a Catholic School while her Buddhist mother and Shinto father spoke Japanese and followed their own rituals. Though she traces the origins of her art back to her close relationship with her calligrapher father, the experience of various languages and rites initiated her in the perceptual multiplicity of the world.

Okumura has had personal exhibitions in several institutions: the Museu de Arte Moderna and Pinacoteca de São Paulo; Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas; PS1, New York, and an itinerant retrospective started in 2016, at the University of Buffalo Museum, Buffalo, New York, in the United States. Her works belong to collections of museums like the Metropolitan Museum of New York, Akron Museum of Art, Ohio, and Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo.

Lydia OkumuraRelocation of the Cube, 1972

Mirror and grass70 x 140 cm

Okumura’s interest in art was awakened in the Japanese Schools she frequented in her childhood, where their paintings were featured in exhibitions and in Japanese papers. Her father was a calligrapher who had aspired to become a painter in his youth. At 14, Okumura was sent to learn industrial ceramics, however, she started defining lines and shapes in complex geometry, with colors of flat paint and glazes, exploring the intersection between two and three dimensions, and challenging the possibilities.

In the 70’s Okumura started to participate in art competitions by creating site-specific works; one group exhibition she participated in at the SESC Vila Nova in São Paulo in 1973 was deemed the first conceptual art exhibition in Brazil. In the years 1973-84 she participated in Biennials in São Paulo and was awarded the International São Paulo Biennial prize in 1977; and had several gallery and institutional exhibitions across the US and Latin America. In 2017. Okumura held her first touring US retrospective exhibition starting at UB Art Galleries in Buffalo, NY, concluding at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona. Her work is included in the permanent collections and institutions such as: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museo de Arte Moderna, the Pinacoteca Museum in São Paulo, the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan and most recently at The Pérez Art Museum Miami, FL.

Lydia OkumuraUntitled/Sem títuloPaper, paint, foamSalão of Arte Contemporânea de Santo AndréSpecial Reference Award, 1974

Okumura’s minimal geometric shapes and fine lines present the bare signifiers of space. Placed strategically within installations, the forms alter the shape of the space they take up, depending on the position of the viewer in relation to these forms. Okumura’s distinct ability to reveal the multiplicity of seemingly fixed structures is a gift she bestows upon her audience. By altering the viewer’s perception of dimensionality, Okumura’s work guides her audience to reexamine the way they assign meaning to the physical world.

Lydia OkumuraCube 1, 2, 3, 1984

Lydia OkumuraCube 1, 2, 3, 1984

Stainless steel wire mesh30 × 30 × 30 in each

Lydia OkumuraSituation (detail), 1974

Lydia OkumuraSituation, 1974

Portfolio of 10 silkscreen prints22 7/8 × 28 3/4 in each

$15,000 each

Lydia OkumuraFeelings, 1978Arcylic and graphite on paper22 1/2 x 35 1/2 x 2 in $26,000

Lydia OkumuraProject for CPX, 1977

Arcylic and graphite on paper22 x 29 7/8 in

$24,000

Lydia OkumuraIn Front of Light (detail), 1977

Lydia OkumuraIn Front of Light, 1977

String, glass, string, and oil stick$45,000

Lydia OkumuraDifferent Dimensions of Reality II (detail), 1972Aluminum plates and paint61 1/2 x 62 1/2 x 106 1/4 in $35,000

Lydia OkumuraDifferent Dimensions of Reality II, 1972

Lydia OkumuraDiagram of the dream in evolution, 1981 Acrylic, graphite, color pencil on paper22 x 30 in $22,000

Lydia OkumuraAs if circles were hidden for a moment, 1977

Acrylic paint and pencil on paper22 × 30 in

$24,000

Lydia OkumuraThree Color Squares (detail), 1984

Lydia OkumuraThree Color Squares, 1984 Stainless steel rod and acrylic paint16 x 16 x 13 3/4 in $25,000

Lydia OkumuraUntitled, 2013 Oil on canvas18 x 14 in $14,500

Lydia OkumuraUntitled, 2013 Oil on canvas

18 x 14 in$14,5000

Lydia OkumuraFocus (diptych), 1986

Acrylic paint and crayon on paper29 x 63 x 3 in

$40,000

Lydia OkumuraCurve, view Left; Curve, view Center; Curve, view Right (triptych), 1976

Acrylic and graphite on paper29 7/8 x 22 in

$28,000

Lydia OkumuraAs if the surface is deep, 1976Acrylic paint and pencil on paper22 × 30 in$24,000

Lydia OkumuraWork V, 1983

Acrylic, colored pencil and black ink on paper27 3/4 x 39 1/4 in

$29,000

Lydia OkumuraCircle, 1984

Stainless steel rod47 ¼ in

$32,000

Lydia OkumuraM, 1984

Wiremesh 59 x 59 x 9 7/16 in

$65,000

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Lydia Okumura: Situations, UB Art Galleries, Buffalo, NYUprooting Architecture: 1.000.000mm3, Ideobox Artspace, Miami, FLThe Disappearance of Perspective, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, NY/Wentworth, House Garden, Norfolk, CTIn Front of Light, Centro Cultural São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilRecent Circular Paintings, Galeria Deco, São Paulo, BrazilRecent Paintings, Museu de Arte da Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, BrazilRecent Works on Paper, Galerie d’art Jean-Claude Bergeron, Ottawa, CanadaRecent Paintings, Kate Art Gallery, São Paulo, BrazilArchitectural Metapho—Objects and Installations, Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, BrazilInstallation and Paintings, Galeria São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilInstallation and Paintings, Condeso & Lawler Gallery, New York, NYInstallation and Works on Paper, Utsubo Gallery, Osaka, JapanInstallation and Paintings, Condeso & Lawler Gallery, New York, NYInstallation at Espaço Arena, Museu de Arte da Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, BrazilInstallation and Work on Paper, Watari Gallery, Tokyo, JapanInstallation and Works on Paper, Utsubo Gallery, Osaka, JapanInstallation and Works on Paper, Guinzakaigakan Gallery, Tokyo, JapanInstallation and Works on Paper, Nobe Gallery, New York, NYInversion Plus on Both Sides, Cayman Gallery, New York, NYGraphics and Works on Paper, Nobe Gallery, New York, NYReistros de Experiencias de Recinto 1971–1977, Galeria do SESC Vila Nova, São Paulo, Brazil

2016

2015

20041995199319911984

19831982198119801979

1978

1977

Artist CV

Group Exhibitions

Inaugural Exhibition, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NYPinta Art Fair, Saludarte Foundation, Miami, FLMetáforas Construidas, Galeria LaCometa, Bogotá, ColumbiaINDEPENDENT Art Fair with BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NYSIDESHOW NATION III, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, NYArt Basel Miami Beach with BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NYLAND OF SUNSHINE:Japanese–Brazilian artists from the Ricardo Akagawa Collection, Prefecture Museum, Gunma, JapanPoints of View 1973–2014, with Equipe3, Museu do Solar da Marquesa, São Paulo, BrazilContra o estado das coisas— anos 70, with Equipe3 Jaqueline Martins Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil ULTRAPASSADO II, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NYULTRAPASSADO I, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NYSP–Art Fair, Galeria Jaqueline Martins Gallery, São Paulo, BrazilSideshow Nation II, Alamo, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, NYEquipe3, Frieze London Art Fair, Jaqueline Martins Gallery, São Paulo, BrazilShaped Painting, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, NYSalvador Allende, Collection Exhibition, Museu de Solidariedad, Santiago, Chile, Museu Afro-Brasileiro, São Paulo, BrazilObjeto Imaginado, Centro Cultural Vergueiro, São Paulo, BrazilCultura Japonesa na Arte, Brasileira–Abraços na Arte: Brasil Japão, Palacete das Artes Rodin Bahia, Salvador, Brazil Contemporary Art Yokohama– São Paulo Art Project, Iwasaki Museum, Yokohama, Japan100 Anos de Arte Nikkey do Brasil, CCBB, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, Brazil100 Anos de Arte Nikkey do Brasil, Museo Brasileiro da Escultura, MUBE, São Paulo, BrazilLaços do Olhar, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, BrazilNipo-brasileiros no acêrvo, Museu da Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, BrazilArte Brasil–Japão. Moderno e Atual, MAC/USP Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, BrazilOther Dimensions of Abstract Art, Gallery Onetwentyeight and Tribes Gallery, New York, NYGenerations.04, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY

20162015

2014

2013201120102009

2008

2005

Artist CVGroup Exhibitions

Gerações: a arte contemporânea, nipo–brasileira, Espaço de Art, Unicid, University/Museu da Casa Brasileira, São Paulo, BrazilArte nipo–brasileira, momentos, Galeria Euro-Art Castelli, São Paulo, Brazil Festish-istic, Gallery Onetwentyeight, New YorkPerpsectives, Paintings and Installations from Brazil, USA and Norway, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, NY and Atelier Coletivo de Olinda, PE, BrazilTraços e formas, Jo Slaviero Galeria de Arte, São Paulo, BrazilOnetwentyeight Gallery, New York, NYContemporary Japanese–Brazilian Painters, Oficina de Artes Santa Helena, Jacareí, São Paulo, BrazilJapanese/Brazilian Women’s Exhibition, Museu de Arte Nipo–Brasileiro, São Paulo, BrazilInteriores, Coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilContemporary Japanese–Brazilian Art Traveling Exhibition Museums in São Paulo, Brazil and Niigata, Tokushima, Gifu and Tokyo, Japan Contemporary Japanese/Brazilian Artists, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilFive Contemporary Artists, Toki Art Gallery, São Paulo, BrazilMares Navegados, Mosteiro dos Jerônimos, Lisbon, PortugalWomen’s Global Vision, Aba Gallery, New York, NYXIV International Drawing, Miró Foundation, Barcelona, SpainO desenho moderno no Brasil, Coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilXilografia: do cordel a galeria, Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo, BrazilPortugal–Japão 450 anos de Amizade, Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, FAAP, São Paulo, BrazilThe Awakening/El Despertar, The Discover Museum, Bridgeport, CTLatin American Biennial, Latin Art CA ’90, Lavalin Gallery, Montreal, Canada Invitational: Salão de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil80th Anniversary of the Japanese Immigration, 40 Artists, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilArte em Jóias, Luiz Carlos Okubo + Galeria Sculptura, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and TokyoConexus, Connection Project, Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York, NYArt of the Americas, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DCEminent Immigrants, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Staten Island, NYArtists for Artists, Forefront Gallery, Long Island City, NYExuberant Abstraction, Curated by Peter Frank, Modern Art Consultants, New York, NYToday’s Art of Brazil, The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan 10 Artists of Latin America, International House, New York, NYColeção Gilberto Chateaubriand, Retrato e auto-retrato da arte brasilieira, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilPainting Installation, 17th International Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Center for Inter-American Relations, New York, NYCondeso/Lawler Gallery, New York, NYHispanic Achievement in the Arts, Equitable Gallery, New York, NYThe Japan Dynasty ’83, The Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PACenter for Inter-American Relations, New York, NYCentral Hall Artists Gallery, New York, NYContemporary Art of Latin America, The National Museum of Osaka, JapanForm, Inform and Recreate, The International Biennial of Medellín, Colombia The Shaped Fields: Eccentric Formats, MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NYInstallation/Two Artists, Pratt Institute Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, NYA.I.R Gallery, New York, NYCecile Abish, Kazuko, Lydia Okumura, Nobe Gallery, New York, NYFrom Tokyo to SP–Installation, 15th International Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilThree Artists: Equipe3, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MIRecent Acquisitions, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NYContemporary Art Festival, Daegu, KoreaCreative Artists Public Service Grantee Exhibition, New York, NYFour Artists Installation, Barbara Schwartz Residence, New York, NYInternational Exhibition of Original Drawings, Museum of Modern Art, Rijeka, YugoslaviaImigração 70, SESC Campestre, São Paulo, Brazil XII International GraphicArts Biennial, Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia

20032001

199919981997

1996

1995

1994

19931991199019891988

1987

19861985

1984

1983

1982

1981

1980

1979

1978

1977

Artist CVGroup Exhibitions

In Front of Light Installation, 14th International Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilIII International Biennial of Drawings, Austria, ViennaAnnual Exhibition, Pratt Graphics Center, New York, NYPrints from the Collection, Donated by Yara Cohen, Museu da Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilDecade of 70’s, CAYC, Buenos Aires, Museum of Contemporary Art, São Paulo, BrazilAnnual Exhibition, Pratt Graphics Center, New YorkXV International Drawing Exhibition, Miró Foundation, Barcelona, SpainIV International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Krakow, PolandV International Biennial of Drawings, Rijeka, Yugoslavia III International Biennial of Graphics, NorwayIV International Graphics Biennial, Freshen, West GermanyIman: New York, Center for Inter–American Relations, New York, NYSALALM, Indianna University, Bloomington, INEquipe3 Installations, Estudio Actual Gallery, Caracas, VenezuelaXI International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, YugoslaviaXIV International Drawing Exhibition, Miró Foundation, Barcelona, SpainBrazillian Art Festival, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, ALProspectiva, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, BrazilInverted Rainbow, Salão de Arte Contemporânea de Santo André, São Paulo, BrazilAnnual Exhibition, Pratt Graphics Center, New York, NY Equipe3: Pontos de vista, 12th International Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilGraphics, International Biennial of Graphic Art, Puerto RicoTriptychs and Sculpture, Galeria Eucatexpo, São Paulo, BrazilJovem Arte Contemporânea, Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Campinas, São Paulo, BrazilAcontecimentos 7.04.1972—9th Aniversário, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, BrazilNational Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilIncluir os Exluidos, Equipe3, VI, Jovem Art Contemporânea (JAC), Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Univeridade de São Paulo, BrazilIdentity: Five Conceptual Artists Exhibition, SESC–Vila Nova, São Paulo, BrazilEquipe3: Restaurarte, IV Salão de Arte Contemporânea de Santo André, São Paulo, BrazilAnual de Artes Plásticas da FAAP, São Paulo, Brazil III EXPO de Arte Contemporânea, Colégio Maria Imaculada, São PauloTwo Artists Exhibition, Galeria Hobjeto, São Paulo, BrazilColetiva de Inauguração, Galeria Acervo, São Paulo; Salão Seibi; Galeria ObjetoSalão de Arte Contemporânea do Grupo Seibi, Aliança Cultural Brasil Japão, São Paulo, BrazilSalão de Arte Contemporânea do Grupo Seibi, Aliança Cultural Brasil Japão, São Paulo, BrazilIV Salão do Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil1° Salão Joven, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, BrazilII Biennial da Bahia, BASalão do Trabalho, SESC Vila Nova, São Paulo, BrazilX Salão de Arte Contemporânea de São Bernardo, São Paulo, BrazilI Salão de Arte Contemporânea de São Caetano do SulIII Salão de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

1977

1976

1975

1974

1973

1972

1971

19701969

1968

1967

Artist CVGrants & Awards

Travel/Residency Grant, The Japan Foundation, TokyoCAPS-Creative Artists’ Public Service Grant, New YorkPurchase Prize, International Graphics Biennial, Fredrikstad, NorwayPratt Graphics Center Annual Prize, Pratt Graphics Center, New YorkInternational Biennial of São Paulo Prize, São PauloSpecial Reference Prize, Salão de Arte Contemporanea, Santo Andre, SPSecretaria de Arte, Cultura e Turismo Prize, International Biennial of São Paulo, São PauloAnnie Alvares Penteado Annual Exhibition Prize, FAAP, São PauloPurchase Prize, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, SPJoven Arte Contemporanea, Museu de Arte Contemporanea da Universidade de São Paulo Special Juror Reference, 1st Encontro Jundiaience de Arte, SPMenção Honrosa, XIII Salão de Artes Plásticas do Grupo SEIBI, São PauloBronze Medal, Salão SEIBI, São Paulo, SPHonorable Mention, Salão do Trabalho, SESC, São Paulo, SP

1979/801978

1977

197419731972

19711969

19681967

Public Collections

Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, SpainMuseo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, SpainInstituto Figueiredo Ferraz, Ribeirão Preto, SP, BrasilThe University of New York, UB Anderson Gallery, Buffalo, NY The Hall Foundation, Derneburg, GermanyMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NYThe Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo Contemporary Graphic Art Collection, Friedrikstadt, NorwayMuseum of Belas Artes, Caracas, VenezuelaMuseum of Modern Art, Bogota, ColombiaPinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, SPMuseu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, SPMuseu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SPItamaraty Palace - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brasilia, DFMario de Andrade Public Library, São Paulo, SPMuseu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo, SPMuseu de Arte do Parlamento, São Paulo, SPHyogo Prefecture Museum of Art, Kobe, JapanCollection of Art of the City of São Paulo/Centro Cultural São Paulo, São Paulo, SPAkron Museum of Art, OhioThe Hall Foundation, Derneburg, GermanyMuseo de Solidaridad Salvador Allende, Santiago, ChileIBM Atlanta/ Equitable, NY/ Tupperware, FLThe Perez Art Museum of Miami, FL