Yuko Kitaura 北浦 優子
Artist Japanese ink and oil paintings
666 Poirier Street, Oakland, CA 94609-1227
Phone & Fax: 510-652-1231
ykitaura@sbcglobal.net
[Education]
1967- 70 Ochanomizu Art college, Tokyo
Additional education:
Japanese Painting (self-taught)
Drawing & oil painting lab at California College of Arts and Crafts.
Print making at Laney College
Drawing at Fort Mason in San Francisco
Studied calligraphy under Lam-po Leong, a renowned Chinese Painter
Japanese calligraphy and other art forms in group and classes
English as a second language classes
Computer classes
[Exhibition]
1991-2004 Participated in East Bay Open Studio：
Annual event at Carol Tarzier Studio/Group show with sculptor Carol Tarzier
Also: Took part in benefit art shows for cultural and social causes
2004 Japanese Paintings/ Elements: Group show: San Chez Art Center in Pacifica
2001 Japanese Paintings/ Solo show: Mechanic Bank in Oakland
2000 Drawings/ Group show: Artists in Bay Area at State University of Stockton
1995 Japanese Paintings/ Solo show: Shay’s (restaurant) in Kensington
1994 Prints and Drawings/ Solo show: Shay’s (restaurant) in Kensington
1993 Sumi Paintings/ Solo show: Shay’s (restaurant) in Kensington
1990 Sumi Paintings/ Group show: Koncepts Cultural Gallery in Oakland
[Work Experience]
* United States:
1992- Present Stringer Correspondent for Kyodo News Service
(a Japanese wire service, equivalent of Associated Press)
1990- Present Painter (Japanese painting, oil, calligraphy, drawing and others )
1896- present Travel coordinator for Japanese journalists in the United States
Freelance writer and translator for publication in Japanese
1982- 1986 Teacher at a day care center called Nihonmachi Little Friends, in San Francisco
* Japan:
1975- 1979 Book editor at Metamorphose Co. (a publishing company in Tokyo)
Subsequently became a free-lance editor and writer
[Other Activities]
1997- 2003 Volunteer; visiting seniors at convalescent hospitals in San Francisco
1993- 1996 Curator for Shay’s restaurant
1990- 1995 Coordinator for a drawing class at Studio One in Oakland
[Paintings and me]
I started doing oil paintings in Japan, but began doing Japanese style paintings after I came to United States. I needed to do something that allowed me to feel true to my-self, to keep my-self together and it was sumi painting.
Sumi, rice paper and water…the use of these media gives me spiritual strength while living in a different culture. I can immerse myself in the simplicity and stubbornness of the water, and the delicacy of the water on the rice paper. I love the sharp contrast of the black and white and the delicate tones of the shades in between, and the blurred effects of ink and water. Their behavior seems very human to me but of pure spirit. Red and green… the colors add some emotional touch and joy to being.
In recent years, I have been working on a “There” series, using oval shapes. It’s an attempt to give a sense of “where am I standing” spiritually or how we are balancing in our life. I call this series “There” because I started this series when I felt like I was lost in a maze and needed a place to stand. (or to be). As for the oval shapes, an oval is a kind of nucleus, a nucleus of existence. Even of myself.
In recent years, I also find that I enjoy oil painting very much. Most of my oil paintings are portraits. I love the vivid colors and the self-assertion it allows.