ON VIEW THRU NOVEMBER 3, 2023: This solo exhibition features new work by Masumi Kataoka inspired by mythical creatures such as Chimera, animal hybrids as well as religious symbolism, Buddhist or Hindu statues that have multiple limbs or body parts. Kataoka is interested in how man’s longings creates symbolism. At the beginning, she combined cicada and snails for their shared symbolism of rebirth/recycle. This coupling also came from an instinctive reaction to the earth-bond nature of snails—she wondered if they wished they could fly. In this body of work, she has also included different animals that may have opposing or unrelated symbolic meanings.

Kataoka is also interested in the ability of jewelry to have a talisman-like ability—she wants her work to have that quality and still be very personal. This is why her work is consciously placed within the wearable art genre.