(Left) Work in progress
(Right) "Axial Descent" Exhibition view (3331 Arts Chiyoda, 2015)

Profile

Douglas Easterly is an American artist living and working in New Zealand. Easterly's work confronts a variety of contrasting themes and styles: ancient and contemporary culture; traditional and cutting-edge studio techniques; representational imagery and geometric abstraction. Now working independently, Easterly worked for over 10 years with SWAMP, an art collective he co-founded whose work has been widely exhibited internationally and is part of the permanent collection at the MoMA in New York City. The residence at 3331 marks his first in Japan.

Residence Plan

Douglas Easterly's 6-week residency at 3331 Arts Chiyoda concludes with an exhibition titled "Axial Descent". The work continues Easterly's fascination with the pivotal relationships between life and death, masculine and feminine, technology and nature, along with other features of the human condition. His production techniques include watercolour, drawing and casein - a 5000-year-old medium using cow's milk. In addition to traditional techniques, Easterly is equally dedicated to employing and developing his skills with digital technology - computer programming in particular. Many of the works in this exhibition utilize Java and Logo scripts, as well as a custom software application called CatsEye, which rapidly aids the process of pattern design.

In addition to studio production, Easterly used the residency to explore Japan's rich culture of art and design practices spanning Ukiyo-e, Nihonga, contemporary art, illustration, manga and animation. Pouring through a variety of books, he also visited several museums, galleries and cultural centers, meeting many arts professionals during the few weeks leading up to the final exhibition.

[EXHIBITION]
April 20 (Mon) - 24 (Fri) 2015
12:00-19:00
3331 Arts Chiyoda (2F Residence Studio)
Free Entry

[CLOSING RECEPTION]
April 24 (Fri) 2015
18:30-20:30
3331 Arts Chiyoda (2F Residence Studio)
Free Entry