Yuko Oda: Entering, Arriving, Departing

Yuko Oda: Entering, Arriving, Departing

August 30 – October 1, 2023

First Friday Reception: September 1, 5 – 8pm

Artist’s Reception & Artist Talk: September 9, 3 – 5pm

Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 11 am – 5pm  & by appointment

Yuko Oda’s personal history involves lifelong pilgrimages to her homeland of Japan.  On a recent trip, she visited several shrines and temples, walking through numerous gates and performing rituals such as ringing bells to pay respect and purifying oneself with water.  Oda also recently experienced a loss in her family.  These events coalesced into the creation of Entering, Arriving, Departing, an immersive installation where visitors are invited to remove their shoes, enter, and experience a place of contemplation, curiosity, and wonder. After passing through wooden gates covered in lichen and weathered by time, various objects welcome the visitor in the main area.  Repeated forms, made in plaster and arranged as offerings, hold a quiet grounding presence. Above, dynamic assemblages made of gnarly wood and iridescent plastic reflect and refract light, connecting the space to the cosmos and, perhaps, to the divine.

Yuko Oda has exhibited at SIGGRAPH Asia China, Beijing Today Art Museum, Dumbo Arts Festival, Hynes Convention Center, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston Cyberarts Gallery, 13Forest Gallery, Annemarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center in Maryland, Maki Fine Arts Gallery in Japan, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, among others. Oda has been an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center, Chashama North Residency, Goetemann Artist Residency, Byrdcliffe Artist Residency, and the Painting Residency at the School of Visual Arts. Oda received a BA from Duke University and an MFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design.  Oda is represented at 13Forest Gallery in Arlington, MA.  She is a faculty member in the Art and Design Department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.