Alex Uchida: Blooms in the Dark
Alex Uchida’s translucent, withering blooms are born from a thick space of darkness—a layer which she achieves with mineral spirits, damar varnish, and a classic mix of burnt umber, Prussian blue, and quinacridone magenta. Then she follows her pulsating intuition, stroke by stroke, wet on wet, and lays down marks of color that are faintly reminiscent of life once cherished. The Baram House presents a selection of her recent paintings that celebrate life in rediscovery.
By Yoojin Shin
“I’m inspired by the imperfect nature of things. Things forgotten, passed over because of their ugliness. Broken, abandoned buildings and their imprints of lives lived. Dedicatory notes in old, used books. The muted colors of a wilting flower—bruised almost—and its dying lines, more elegant in repose than it was in its cheerful yesterdays. The vase of ailing purple tulips that sits by my window. Things that once held promise.
That’s what I was sold when I took on my (unfinished) studio practice degree. Hope and promise for discovery in a now vast ‘art world.’ A world that’s hanging onto the threads of a dated system.”
“Which isn’t to say it doesn’t work! But artists are taking power into their own hands. We’re more entrepreneurial. We’re seeking meaning beyond the work. Where my own was internally focused before, I now hope to connect with others and encourage them to see and celebrate those forgotten parts of themselves. The parts we abandon or hide when trying to mold ourselves to antiquated systems in the name of ‘success.’
That’s an education I could not have received in art school or through the well-intentioned advice honed by the art world aficionados. It was an education lived; less cerebral, more felt.”
—Alex Uchida
Alex Uchida is a San Francisco Bay Area artist who grew up in grim, Southern California neighborhoods. From a filthy, just-off-the-railroad street in Corona to stale Long Beach, Alex is now located in Downtown San Jose—which has a reputation of its own and a crime rate that pushes the national average up every year. But this grimy, industrial history has led to an appreciation for the bleak; a soft heart for the downtrodden; and a soft rebellion against conventional beauty. This quiet distaste guides Alex to search for the charm in the desolate. You can keep up with her works on her Instagram and website.