Kana Harada
New Beginning

Talley Dunn Gallery
May 28 – July 11, 2015

New Beginning marks the artist’s first exhibition with the gallery, and Harada has crafted nine new works, including a large-scale installation of cherry blossom branches created from hand-cut pieces of thin, foam sheet and found materials. Suspended from the branches is a delicate seed pod, revealing a delicately painted interior to the viewer. Dragon Bone Lily presents a collection of wild forms in bloom with crystals and other small accents to highlight the black and white leaves. Three watercolor paintings, all completed with a reductive technique of removing the pigment to create depth and emphasize detail, finish the installation.

Harada’s sculptures embody the artist’s appreciation of nature and joy for living. These inspirations manifest themselves in fantastically colored trees, flowers, and vines created from delicately cut and glued foam sheets. While Harada’s organic objects convey lightness and softness, they also capture the fragile and fleeting quality of the natural world.

Raised dually in Japan and the United States, Harada studied design, Japanese fine art, and drawing at Ochanomizu School of Fine Arts in Tokyo. She has exhibited at the Trammell and Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas; Texas Christian University, Fort Worth; the Old Jail Art Center, Albany; and galleries in Japan, New York City, and Texas. She currently lives and works in Dallas, Texas.