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McCutchan Art Center to showcase work of Japanese School instructor, students

May 10, 2017

The McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries will present Second Life, an exhibit featuring paintings, drawings and ceramic works of University of Southern Indiana art alumnus Tadashi Kojima from Monday, May 15 - Monday, June 5. Artwork of the children he teaches at USI's Southern Indiana Japanese School in Evansville will also be on display. A free public reception for Kojima and his students on Sunday, May 21, 2 - 4 pm in the Art Center.

An engineer in Japan for 35 years, Kojima retired from the Takizawa Ham Company, Ltd. in 2011 and came to the United States to teach at the Southern Indiana Japanese School in an exchange program with Evansville's sister city, Tochigi City in Japan. He earned a bachelor's degree in studio art from USI in 2016.  Kojima will return to Japan permanently in July 2017.

This exhibit features examples of the two and three-dimensional art Kojima created while living and working in Evansville. In his artist statement he writes, "I realized there was an artist inside of me after taking a drawing class at USI in 2013. My past experiences such as understanding the logical aspects of objects, the emotional aspects of human beings, and my view of life have helped me in creating my art. I like to capture the beauty of living things and nature in my art. For me, the most important element is light. Light makes various colors and shadows which are essential for painting. I have a passion for color and composition.  If the viewers have peaceful feelings and they can also be healed through my paintings, I would come close to my goals. I try to convey my love of life in all of my artwork."

The Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center/Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Galleries is located in the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center on the USI campus. The gallery is open during the summer from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free and open to the public. Visit USI.edu/liberal-arts/art-center-galleries for more information.

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