CLOUD NINE. Artist Yoshihiro Kitai (above) talks about his work at a recent visit to Portland’s Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery. (AR Photo/Toni Tabora-Roberts) At right is Kitai’s "MWC 31" (detail), watercolor and silver leaf on paper, 30" x 22.5", 2007. (Photo/Dan Kvitka)

From The Asian Reporter, V17, #47 (November 20, 2007), page 13.

By Toni Tabora-Roberts

Yoshihiro Kitai’s "New Work," on display at the Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery in Portland’s Pearl District, is the artist’s first solo show at the gallery. Previously, Kitai has been a part of the gallery’s group show, "Introductions," and a solo show at the Portland Art Center.

Kitai’s current work has evolved from earlier works involving his use of traditional Japanese materials, including gold and silver leaf, as well as traditional cloud forms. Though steeped in these traditions, I found Kitai’s work to be refreshingly contemporary and thoroughly compelling.

While his earlier explorations in gold and silver leaf seemed almost oppressive in the massive, dense cloud forms, his current work is smaller in scale and much more understated. He uses mostly silver leaf — one piece features gold leaf, which I found to be less successful — in much subtler form. For the "MWC" series, instead of creating cloud shapes with traditional leafing methods, he creates cloud fields through the delicate use of leaf droplets, almost like silver rain on paper. The effect is marvelous, a blend of meticulous pointillism with organic miniature relief. In the midst of these silver clouds, colored ink clouds appear — a similar use of small marks — but with a complementary texture of ink on paper. While the silver bubbles off the page almost sculpturally, the ink seems to seep in, creating an interesting contrast of both color and texture.

For each piece in the "MWC" series, he plays with space, color, and form. On the one hand, the pieces evoke a beautiful sense of patterns, like scales or cellular structures. Different colors lend them- selves to different patterns: color fields vs. silver fields vs. white space. On the other hand, as I investigated the works further, I almost felt a more subtly aggressive sensation of the color fields eating through silver rain — or the reverse, the silver clouds closing in on the color field.

The other series in the show is titled "Inscribe." Very much related to the "MWC" series in terms of using marks and dots as the primary form, Kitai pushes the sculptural aspect of his explorations further. These works include fields of raised dots created by pin marks on the paper. Again, I enjoyed the combination of scrupulous detail with imperfect organic markings. While the "MWC" series evokes some sense of organic movement, "Inscribe" somehow feels more energetic. The snake-like shapes suggest a sense of a journey, almost like a birds-eye view of individuals marching through space toward some destination.

The broader themes suggested by Kitai’s work stem from his experience as an outsider commenting on American society, having moved here from Japan. His work makes interesting commentary on individual vs. society, diversity vs. homogeneity, outsider vs. insider. The other theme that runs through is that of labor, both inspired by the painstaking process of his creation of the work, as well as the ideas around group dynamics and group mentality.

We’re fortunate to have Kitai among our local artist community. The Japan native first arrived in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1990s. After a stint in St. Louis, where he completed his MFA in Printmaking and Drawing at Washington University, he returned to Portland and is receiving some very positive attention. Jenene Nagy, from local art blog PORT, found at <www.portlandart.net>, chose Kitai’s show at the Portland Art Center as "Best Local Solo Show of 2006." He is also on faculty at his alma mater, the Pacific Northwest College of Art, as Instructor in Foundation and Printmaking.

"New Work" is a great sign of things to come from Yoshi Kitai. In comparison to his earlier large works, which seem to push you away to observe from a distance, these pieces pull you in, inviting a more intimate exploration. I highly recommend readers accept the invitation and check out Kitai’s work in person. Photographs can hardly do this work justice.

"Yoshihiro Kitai: New Work" is on display at the Pulliam Deffenbaugh Gallery through December 1. The gallery, located at 929 N.W. Flanders Street in Portland, is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00am to 5:30pm. For more information, call (503) 228-6665 or visit <www.pulliamdeffenbaugh.com>.