Kaoru Mansour, Light and Two Branches, Circa2010

Description

This artwork titled "Light and Two Branches" c.2010 is an offset lithograph on paper by Japanese artist Kaoru Mansour, b.1956. … more This artwork titled "Light and Two Branches" c.2010 is an offset lithograph on paper by Japanese artist Kaoru Mansour, b.1956. It is hand signed and numbered 370/400 in pencil by the artist. The image size is 20 x 22.75 inches, sheet size is 24 x 26.75 inches. It is in excellent condition, has never been framed.

About the artist:

Kaoru Mansour grew up in a small mountainous village in Japan. She has vivid, early childhood memories of playing with, studying and even eating the tremendous varieties of seasonal plants in the lush forests of Japan. As she began her formal training as an
artist at Otis Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles, the impact of her previous natural surroundings emerged. While her work has evolved over the years, botanical imagery, whether actual or abstracted, has always figured in her work.

Mansour’s current body of work connects images of plants with abstract mark making. The artist goes into her physical surroundings to gather plants and flowers - whatever she finds of interest during a particular season. She then transfers images of single specimens onto panels - whether it is a leaf, the whole plant or just a portion of a flower - the image is always simple and solitary. A muted, butter-like background holds the image which is glazed over to form a cracked, raku-like surface - a small gesture to her Japanese heritage. Mansour then draws colored circles and other small ink markings on the panels, enhancing the fundamental beauty of a single branch or stem. These simple, focused pieces elegantly integrate graphic and organic expressions. While the viewer may recognize a particular type of plant or flower, the image is always simplified - a flower stripped of leaves, a stem without its main branch or a sturdy stalk detached from the ground. Her compositions crop those “extraneous” elements from the picture plane to emphasize the abstract beauty and remarkable form of her chosen specimen. Her delicate markings swirl around and attach to the delicate branches, creating new, otherworldly plant forms that are at once astute with their precision and wonderfully whimsical.




2010
Zentica, Museo de Arte La Aduana, Casa del Cuno, San Jose, Costa Rica
2010
Mind Game III, Andrew Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2010
Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (solo)
2010
L.A. Artcore, Los Angeles, CA (solo)
2009
Andrew Shire Gallery, Singapore (solo)
2009
Crosscurrent, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum; Maki Masaru Fine Arts; LA Artcore Union Center For the Arts
2009
White, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2008
Inaugural Exhibition, Heather James Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2008
Summer Group Show, g2 Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2008
Recent Work, g2 Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ (solo)
2006
Recent Work, LMAN Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (solo)
2006
Organic Mixtures, L.A. Artcore Union Center, Los Angeles, CA
2005
Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (solo)
2005
Svenska Mobler, Chicago, IL (solo)
2005
Art Auction XI, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2004
10th Annual Holiday Group Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2004
LMAN Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004
LMan Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (solo)
2004
Svenska Mobler, Chicago, IL (solo)
2004
Nature Fantastique, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2004
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Rental Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004
Mind Game II, Andrew Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004
J. Johnson Gallery, Jacksonville, FL
2004
Sunam Gallery, Busan, Korea
2003
Mind Game, Sunam Gallery, Busan, Korea
2003
Iro, Mesa College Art Gallery, San Diego, CA (Solo Exhibition)
2003
Iro, LMAN, Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Exhibition)
2003
9th Annual Holiday Group Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2003
Art Auction X, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2003
Japanese & American Exchange Show, L.A. Artcore Center, Los Angeles, CA
2002
8th Annual Holiday Group Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2002
Sep. 11, L.A. Artcore Brewery Annex, Los Angeles, CA
2002
Two-person show, L.A. Artcore Brewery Annex, Los Angeles, CA
2001
Kita-Kyusyu Museum of Art, Kita-Kyusyu, Japan
2001
Fukuoka Prefectural Museum, Fukuoka City, Japan
2001
Otto - Galarie, Munchen, Germany
2001
7th Annual Holiday Group Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2001
Art Auction 9, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2000
6th Annual Holiday Group Show, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA


Selected public collections

1993 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LACMA Art Rental Gallery” CREATE A IMPRESSION OF DAME KIRI TE KANAWA’S VOICE” 1991 Boritzer/Gray Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 1990 Main Street Gallery, Alhambra, CA, SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Alpha Group, CA Arizona Hotel & Resort, Arizona Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles, CA Carnival Cruise LineC.B.S.Broadcast Group, Los Angeles, CA David and Lucille Packard Foundation, CA Desert Valley Charitable Foundation, CA Franklin Mint, PennsylvaniaG.J. Cloninger Co., New Jersey Health Net, CA Kawagushi, Tokyo, JapanJustin Winery, Paso Robles, CAKawagushi, Tokyo, JapanKPA & Associate KSG AgencyKSG AgencyLowe Enterprises, Los Angeles, CA Marsh & McLennon, La Jolla, CA N.B.C. Burbank, CA National Acad. of Recording Arts Soc, CA Olympus Camera, N.Y. Oriental Hotel, Kobe Japan Quisenberry & Barnabel, Los Angeles, CA Roll International, CA Seagull Hotel, Yokohama, Japan Saban Entertainment, Burbank, CA Stark Pavilion Production Central, Burbank, CA Prudential Real Estate, Beverly Hills, CA Pfizer Inc. New York, NY Sheraton Grande Hotel, Los Angeles, CA Toyota, Tokyo Japan Tiffany Lendrum Fine Art, L.A. CA DSR design Inc. Los Angeles, CA Philipsborn Designs, Inc, Evanston,IL U.S. Dept. of State, Arlington, VAVenetian Macao Hotel, China Palazzo Hotel, Las Vegas, NV Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago, IL Ritz Carlton Hotel, Laguna, CA The Lumiere Four Seasons Hotel, MO

Selected bibliography

Voyage LA, September 26, 2019 Crave/art critic Nicole Borgenicht , February,2016KCET ARTBOUND / by Meher McArthur January 4, 2016 Palmspings Life/by Nicole Borgenicht December, 2014 Art Scene/art critic Kathy Zimmerer, May 2010 Los Angeles Times /art critic Leah Ollman, July 28 2006 Fine Art, Thailand, February issue, 2006 flavorpill LA, Jun 2003 Nishi Nippon News, Kitakyusyu, Japan November, 2001LECTURES Collage Artists of America San Diego Mesa College California Institute of the Arts less