Ouchi Gallery

Great artist, great works, great people made local! they have opening receptions every tuesday nights and a very interesting curatorial choices. welcomes everybody and it’s even pet friendly! with free admission, i don’t see why one shouldn’t check it out :)

The best gallery for underground artists worldwide hands down. The hostess is a great person, there’s never any drama, and they have tons of great artists from everywhere with good a good mellow atmosphere. They usually have an open bar and sometimes even food. It’s one of the best galleries around, believe me. Tons of events monthly too.

I came here last night for the opening reception of Japanese artist Fumiko Yoshioka’s exhibition, «The Dream of My Children’s Book.» I loved both the art and the gallery itself.
According to her flyer, «Yoshioka’s work… easily transverses between the worlds of East and West, of realism and fantasy, and of seriousness and whimsy.» Yes, I can definitely see that: many of the paintings featured fantasy characters (eg. a pink elephant, a fish with peacock feathers, and birds with huge eyes and pretty, long eyelashes, not unlike those on the painter’s own face), some of which were awake but looked sleepy, while others were in various states of slumber.
One piece featured a flamingo, looking forlornly at a broken egg on the ground. It was painted for a friend whom, if I recall correctly, had lost her baby due to miscarriage. Another piece reminded me of the original Winnie the Pooh artwork – simple inking and a light, neutral colors. One of my favorites was entitled «Monogamouse,» which features a male mouse making eggs over the stove as his wife helps their kid with his/​her homework. The male mouse is described as being faithful to his wife, even after she passes. Monogamouse, get it?
I’d love to have some of these paintings in my children’s bedrooms one day – when I have children and when I have the $ 1700 or so per painting.
Yoshioka’s exhibition ends on Sun 4÷13÷08 and is viewed between 12 – 6 PM by appointment only (see
for more info). She has a blog, where most, if not all, of her pieces from the exhibit can be viewed:
.
Ouchi Gallery is located in a loft studio. Arisa (sorry, didn’t get her last name), the presumed studio owner, has a few kitchen knives on the wall of the open kitchen, as well as a Buddhist altar set-​up, both of which are not normally found in art galleries.
Ouchi features a different contemporary Japanese artist every week. Next week, however, there will be a break, as Arisa will be in Nigeria, teaching origami. You can probably email her for an upcoming exhibition schedule.
I’m looking forward to seeing more at this tiny, but delightful gallery.