Join us for a unique experience that blends music and calligraphy. Japanese master calligrapher Michiko Imai, featured artist from Pao Arts Center’s latest exhibit, The Inventive Brush: Calligraphic Echoes from China, Japan, and Korea, will demonstrate calligraphy through a large-scale performance set to traditional shakuhachi flute music.
Imai is excited and honored to take part in this one-of-a-kind calligraphy exhibition featuring Chinese, Japanese, and Korean calligraphy artists at Pao Arts Center. She hopes that the three countries' friendship can continue to grow through calligraphy and other shared connections.
The Inventive Brush: Calligraphic Echoes from China, Japan, and Korea, curated by Professor Aida Yuen Wong, showcases the diversity of contemporary calligraphy; it features the works of three Massachusetts-based artists, Mike Yuguo Mei, Michiko Imai, and YoungSun Jang. On view from July 19 - October 13, 2024.
About the Artist:
Michiko Imai was born and raised in Nara, Japan, and began studying calligraphy at the age of 4. She was a member of the Nihon Shogeiin (日本書藝院), the Yomiuri Shodo Association (読売書道会), and the Choko Kai (長興会) (now the Koho-kai 興朋会) in Japan. After participating in various exhibitions and receiving awards, she obtained a master's license and was given the name “美嶂-Bisho” by her master (Kikou Miyazaki 宮崎葵光).
She is a calligrapher who expresses herself by making her own scrolls and integrating them with her own artwork. She emphasizes the classics as well as experimenting with new styles as an art form. She has a unique style in which she rolls the paper into a messy shape and starts writing or drawing with an uneven surface. Many of her works express the true strength and softness of women. She uses the space on the surface of the paper, the space inside the paper, and the space above the paper to make the brush dance and play a rhythm. The tip of the brush is vital to the flow of the line. She is particular about every last hair of the brush as it leaves the paper.
About Our Partner:
The Japan Society of Boston, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote cultural and economic ties and active interchange between Japanese and Americans for mutual understanding, business exchange, social connection, and friendship. We serve as a programming nexus for individuals, institutions, and businesses linked together by a strong interest in Japan and a shared recognition of the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship.