Masako Miki

Artist Statement:

In this series I am exploring the idea of transformation, As my main concern is to examine the process of assimilation, I began to investigate what process one takes to assimilate into new environments and continue to evolve as a person.  Acknowledgement and realization is the central narrative here.  Finally, accepting who I was in the past seems to lead to the next question of who I am now, and ultimately who I want to become.

The deer symbolize survival, as they are a highly adaptable species.  Their ability to adjust and integrate has allowed them to subsist throughout the world. This series was inspired by the hypothesis of an alternative reality, where order in the deer’s lifecycle is challenged. The shedding and re-growing of the antlers is a process of survival. What if the beautiful antlers keep growing until they reach the sky?  What if there were no predators of deer? What’s growing has to die in order to mature the process.  Maybe it is okay to leave something that was part of me because it will grow again, or maybe it is also okay if I lose it forever.

Masako Miki is a mixed media artist whose work reflects cultural identity issues with absurd and surreal narratives.  Miki is a native of Japan and now lives and works in Berkeley. She received her MFA from San Jose State University.  Miki has exhibited throughout the bay area including Headlands Center for the Arts, Park Life Gallery, Root Division Gallery in San Francisco, Swarm Gallery, the Compound Gallery, Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland, and The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art in San Jose.   Recently, she was a residency artist at Vermont Studio Center and Wassaic Project in New York, and a nominee for the 2010 and 2012 SECA art award from SFMOMA.  She is a recipient of an Individual Artist Award from The Santo Foundation.  Her work is available at the SFMOMA Artists Gallery, K. Imperial Gallery, Park Life Gallery in SF, the Swarm Gallery, The Compound Gallery in Oakland, and the Bay Area Visual Arts Network.   She recently had a solo exhibition at Swarm Gallery in Oakland.  Currently she is working on a public art project for the city of Berkeley and is scheduled to go a residency program at Kala Art Instutute in Berkeley this fall.