Waterhouse & Dodd is pleased to present an exhibition of recent work by Etsuko Ichikawa, her first solo show with our New York gallery.
A recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant (2009), a NEA grant (2011) and an Andy Warhol Foundation grant (2011), Ichikawa works with molten glass to create exquisite works on paper known as pyrographs.
In a recent article published in Sculpture magazine (Vol. 31, No. 7, Sept. 2012), critic Christopher Schnoor describes Ichikawa's process, "These 'Traces' are intuitive drawings created as the artist moves left to right and back across a long single sheet or smaller multiple sheets of paper laid on the studio floor, holding a pontil of molten glass, weaving threads of fire to leave a smoky yet elegant design, a record of Ichikawa's dance with fire."
While studying with acclaimed glass artist Dale Chihuly at the renowned Pilchuck Glass School in Washington, Ichikawa discovered her process accidentally after seeing marks burnt into the studio floor that were left behind by fallen molten glass. The unexpected result prompted her to experiment with molten glass as a medium; literally painting with fire.
Etsuko Ichikawa was born in 1963 in Tokyo, Japan. She earned a BFA in painting from the Tokyo Zokei University and also studied at the Tokyo Glass Art Institute. Her work has been widely exhibited at galleries and institutions including the Seattle Art Museum, the Bellevue Arts Museum, and the University of Wyoming Art Museum, among others. The artist lives and works in Seattle, WA.