PERCEPTION OF BALANCE
Visualizing Japan
Gillian Armitage
Richard Tetrault
Esther Rausenberg
March 20 to April 5, 2025
Tuesday to Saturday Noon to 5 pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 22, 2025. 2 to 4 pm.
Artists' Talk: Saturday, March 29, 2025. 2 pm.
In photographs, paintings and prints, this exhibit explores the Japanese aesthetic and philosophy of Nagomi, or balance.
The artists traveled to different parts of the country, and they came home with works reflecting varied experiences. Still, the theme of symmetry and balance is evident throughout.
Gillian Armitage
Perception of Balance: a Japanese experience, follows an invitation to speak at the openings of two exhibitions; one from the Director of the Nagasaki Peace Museum and the other from the Director of the Inocho Paper Museum in Japan. My journey took me from Tokyo on the main island of Honshū to Nagasaki, Kyūshū and then onto Kochi on the island of Shikoku and many places in between.
Inspired by the three hundred plus photographs taken during my travels, and this my first exposure to eastern culture, these works probe the Zen aesthetic of balance; the principles and laws that comprise the very essence of our visual experience. Using symbolic references gleaned from the photographs, my aim is to evoke the spirit of Japan by achieving a unity of composition and an aesthetic equilibrium through the exploitation of the antipodean properties of form, colour, volume and mass
Gillian Armitage Bio & CV.
Richard Tetrault
While traveling in Japan, I felt the reverence that is evident in the country for water, as manifest in sacred waterfalls, rice fields and ponds of koi. In ‘Perceptions of Balance,’ I became engaged with the challenge of how, by focusing on a few themes, I might begin to understand some of the layers of Japan. With woodcuts as one of my primary mediums, I was also interested in sparking a personal discourse with Japan’s rich printmaking tradition.
Mitaki Dera, a Buddhist temple in the hills surrounding Hiroshima, had a strong impact on me. The temple, which survived the 1945 atomic bomb mostly intact, is now famous for its hillside gardens, statues and pagodas. It is also known for its dedication to Kannon, the goddess of mercy; the water from these falls is used in the annual Hiroshima Peace Ceremonies. I incorporate these waterfalls as a repeated motif throughout the series. Formally, the dynamic of vertical works, which have an overtone of scrolls in both prints and paintings, also suggest to me a striving for a ‘state of balance.’
March 1, 2025
Esther Rausenberg
After decades of dreaming about Japan, I finally had the opportunity to experience it firsthand in 2023. Like many, I have long been captivated by Japanese aesthetics, culture, and way of life. Yet, beyond the iconic imagery, I sought something deeper—something that resonated with the essence of my journey as an artist.
This series is an exploration of nagomi, a core principle of Japanese philosophy that embodies harmony and balance in all aspects of life. Nagomi is woven into the fabric of Japanese culture, from personal well-being and relationships to art, design, and even food. It is both an ideal and a practice—a way of seeing and being.
As an artist, I constantly seek new perspectives, challenging myself to move beyond the familiar and the expected. How could I see Japan differently? How could I capture its balance in ways that felt fresh and authentic? Through my lens, I began to notice harmony everywhere—from the quiet elegance of small, meticulously tended gardens to the vast serenity of expansive landscapes.
In order to understand nagomi, I had to create my own interpretation of balance. This body of work reflects that journey—a personal exploration of peace, symmetry, and interconnectedness in the everyday. It is my way of sharing Japan not just as a place, but as a feeling.