top of page

Artists: I

Browse artists alphabetically: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Yuko Ike

Education:
BA, Aoyama Gakuin University
Silvermine School of Art (SSA)
Rowayton Arts Center (RAC)
Darien Arts Center (DAC)

Arts Affiliations:
Loft Artists Association (LAA)
Stamford Art Association (SAA)
Rowayton Arts Center – Board member since 2014 (RAC)
Westport Artists Collective (WAC)

 

Artist Statement

Born in Japan and spent my earlier days in Tokyo.

Long as I can remember, drawing and painting has been my passion.  Naturally, I have strong affinity for Japanese aesthetics, most notably the influence of “wabi-sabi”.  “Wabi-sabi” is a Japanese view of aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.  I call this “A form of art in asymmetry, minimalism and modesty.”

My work is expression of how I see and feel the world in which I live in.  Nothing is ever the same, and nothing will remain forever.
 
My inspiration comes from the most ordinary, everyday things and places.  They are often very little known places where I feel strong, emotional and spiritual connections.  It can be anything from watermarks on the wall to a small hidden alleyway.  I try to capture and express the impermanence and acceptance of the inevitable changes. I am most content when my inner visions and feelings are fully expressed in the images.

 

Ike

Gail Ingis-Claus

 

About

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Ingis showed an early ability to draw and paint. Following her creativity, she earned a degree in Interior Design. Ingis continued her design career studies in Architecture and Design Criticism and worked in the field for more than forty years. She had an opportunity to draw and paint in her illustrative work for clients. Ultimately, she studied painting at Lyme Academy and with accomplished well-known artists in various workshops. In her extensive career, she has served as a professor in the history of architecture & interior design. She also is a photographer, juror, writer, design critic, and founder of the nationally accredited Interior Design Institute.  Besides teaching at the Interior Design Institute, she has taught at the New York School of Interior Design, Kean College in Union, New Jersey, the former King’s College in Briarcliff Manor, New York and in Connecticut at the University of New Haven, University of Bridgeport and Fairfield University. Currently she serves as a Board Trustee and Art Director of Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk, Connecticut.  

 

 

Artist Statement

My artwork is characterized by solid drawings and vibrant, energetic, heartfelt colors. I express life experiences through my work. When outdoors I look for the sun’s rays of pink and amber creeping across the meadow. Sunrise and sunset sweep the colors of rainbows across the skies. Atmospheric landscapes have a beauty that often goes unrealized. Rich purples, yellows and blues on a rainy, foggy day are subtle, yet magnificent. For the days not spent outdoors, I have a myriad of subjects to paint from my collections. Thanks to Tom Claus, my husband—without him this journey would not be possible. I sign my paintings Ingis Claus.

Inglis

Jana Ireijo

 

About

Jana Ireijo lives and works in Westport, CT. Her roots are based in Honolulu, HI where she received a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She went on to graduate with an MFA in Painting from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Jana has participated in group exhibitions throughout New York, New England, Chicago, and California and Germany. She recently had the honor of being selected a member of the Silvermine Artist Guild. Jana has two sons and enjoys training for triathlons. To see more of her work, visit: www.janaireijo.com

 

Artist Statement

These paintings are self-portraits. They expose obsessive ruminations on identity, memory, and desire.

The animals are enveloped in shallow fields of intense color.  Fragmented images from Japanese anime and retro icons are reflective of 1970’s Hawaii’s tv and nostalgia.  A solitary childhood was spent creating sticker and scrapbook albums – bringing inner narratives to life on the pages.  Pop culture, with it’s diversions, and bright, cheerful colors, was a welcome escape from an ever changing home life.

As with my adolescent journals, I work from hoarded photographs, and ripped out pages from favorite magazines.  Images are added and subtracted, reconsidered, and painted back.  Lyrics from favorite songs play on repeat as I work.  A new mark can point the canvas in an entirely different direction.  With it’s constant reworking, a painting can take years to complete

For inspiration, I look towards Francis Bacon, Frida Kahlo, the Beastie Boys, and Harajuku girls.

The subjects, colors and textures combine to reveal an agitated, dreamlike state. Disparate images have been reconciled, and I have created a redemptive world that is simultaneously buoyant and brutal. Yet, the paintings remain dense and layered, with secrets and narratives that lurk beneath the outer façade.  

Ireijo
bottom of page