Maya Fuji: Igokochi・居心地

Charlie James Gallery is pleased to present Igokochi, an exhibition featuring paintings and installation by San Francisco based artist Maya Fuji. Fuji interweaves Japanese myth and folklore with contemporary iconography to explore ideas of identity and space, history and heritage. The title of the exhibition refers to the particular feeling of a certain place, and the works negotiate the constant push and pull of living between two continents and two cultures. Fuji populates remembered Japanese interiors with ancestors, playful deities and spirits, imagining them all coexisting in the modern day. The work celebrates traditional Japanese craftsmanship and spiritual tradition while simultaneously embracing a playful, modern sensibility. 

The women in Fuji’s paintings represent shinto gods called “Sorei” – gods formed by an aggregate of ancestral spirits. Every family has their own Sorei, who are protectors of the home and future generations. The artist imagines the fgures in her paintings embodying all the women who have inhabited the home she grew up in, beginning with herself and reaching back through the generations. Formally, the fgures embody two powerful aesthetic infuences from the artist’s childhood: Nihonga painting – a traditional style often found in Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines – and manga illustration. Plush bodies and elegant, expressive hands hail from Ukiyo-e painting of the Edo period, while the simplifed faces and large, sparkling eyes have roots in manga. By embracing these two deeply Japanese styles, Fuji reclaims an aesthetic heritage that she felt carried negative stereotypes in the US.