Sachiko Akiyama

Long Hand Poem

July 5 - October 27, 2017

Post card for Sachiko Akiyama's exhibit entitled "Long Hand Poem" depicts a wooden sculpture of an Asian woman with a long neck and a hand emerging from a form that resembles a mountain. Text says: Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center. Sachiko Akiyama. Long Hand Poem.  July 5 - October 27. Kniznick Ggallery

The Kniznick Gallery presents“Long Hand Poem,” a solo exhibition of New Hampshire-based artist Sachiko Akiyama. In Akiyama’s hand-carved wooden sculptures, the distinction between seeing and touch are softened, as her figures merge with creatures and spaces typically observed from a distance.“Long Hand Poem”reveals Akiyama’s interest in birds and their migratory habits as symbols of the intrinsic intelligence that connects an entity with its home. Her intensely physical process of carving into a large chunk of wood broadens the meaning of her symbols, as she describes “reaching in” toward nature to find concealed forms.

While Akiyama’s figures outwardly assume a statuesque poise that alludes to religious sculpture, their point of departure is distinctly personal. The facial features of her ancestors are represented in some work, and her precise descriptions offer a delicately crafted entry point for viewers.

From July 10-28, Akiyama worked on campus to develop a site-specific print installation to accompany the exhibition.

Sculpture by Sachiko Akiyama entitled "Where Earth Meets Sky, 2012. Wood, clay, paint. 19" x 13-1/2" x 17-1/2". Sculpture two elder Asian women's heads emerging from mountains.Sachiko Akiyama, "Where Earth Meets Sky," 2012. Wood, clay, paint. 19" x 13-1/2" x 17-1/2"

View of Kniznick Gallery installation of Sachiko Akiyama's exhibit "Long Hand Poem." Photo shows the scultpure “Origins,” 2014, wood, resin, paint, 46” x 19-½” x 11”.  It is displayed on a platform with 2 wooden figures.  Each figure has something from nature instead of a head. The woman has a forest.  The man has a mountain.  Both figures' hands are holding these natural forms in place. Two other artworks are on the walls behind the sculptures.  On the left is “On Finding Home,” a carved image made from polychromed wood and gold leaf, 40” x 8-½” x 9-½”. The other is a construction in a shadow box containing a figure and trees; only partially visible.Kniznick Gallery installation: Sachiko Akiyama | Long Hand Poem

Selected Press

Events

Artist's Lecture and Reception

September 27, 2017

Long Hand Poem | Special Collections

October 10, 2017

The Kniznick Gallery has partnered with The Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department at Brandeis University for a presentation of rare books that provide context for the ideas, forms and imagery in the current exhibition, Sachiko Akiyama | LONG HAND POEM. The addition of the display to the exhibition highlights the convergence of Research, Art and Activism that is an integral part of the Women’s Studies Research Center. Akiyama worked directly with the University Archives and Special Collections Staff to choose items from their collection that serve as inspiration and source material for her artistic practice. The event included readings from “Three Reflections” and “The Flowers of Remembrance and Forgetfulness,” two books from a Japanese Fair Tale series published in 1894.

Open Saturday with Sachiko Akiyama

October 14, 2017

Special gallery hours hosted by Sachiko Akiyama

Exercises for the Quiet Eye with Annie Storr

October 24, 2017

WSRC Scholar, art historian and museum educator, Annie Storr will lead art experiencing exercises through the Kniznick Gallery exhibition Sachiko Akiyama | Long Hand Poem. Storr developed Exercises for the Quiet Eye (EQE) to encourage patient reflection, appreciation and an attempt to avoid the rush to understand or determine a set interpretation for what we see.