KOBO Seattle | since 1995
Artist Statement
I could describe that my art making is like creating visual poetry. I work in a broad range of media: drawing, sculpture, installation, performance, film, poetry, and socially engaged art. I do my best when I work intuitively and spontaneously using ephemeral materials such as fire and water.
In this body of work, I use uranium glass as a key element in my sculpture, installation, film, and photography. This particular choice of material relates to a shift in my personal values that occurred after the devastating 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan. I subsequently visited the Hanford site, where I learned about vitrification technology which transforms radioactive waste into glass for ultimate disposal. This experience connected many things for me – my love of glass, my Japanese heritage and nuclear legacy, my perspective looking through the lens of America, and my fear, hope, and responsibility for the future.
Etsuko Ichikawa's film VITRIFIED. Director, Producer, Editor: Etsuko Ichikawa; Director of Photography: Masahiro Sugano; Camera Assistant, Photographer: Peter Kuhnlein; Sound Designer: Tobin Buttram. Filmed in Olympic Penninsula in Washington, USA
VITRIFIED Teaser video
VITRIFIED Full length video
About Etsuko Ichikawa
Etsuko Ichikawa is a Tokyo-born, Seattle-based, multi-media artist. Ichikawa graduated from Tokyo Zokei University in Japan in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. In 1993 she worked with Dale Chihuly as a studio assistant for eight years and became independent in 2003. Ichikawa’s work has been exhibited internationally and is represented by Winston Wächter Fine Art in Seattle and New York In 2020, she was awarded the prestigious Artist Trust Innovator Award for her work with uranium glass.
Special thanks to Dave Misner for his support, lighting, and installation. Photographic images are created in collaboration with Masahiro Sugano, Peter Kuhnlein, and Sayuri Fukuda.
See Etsuko's collection here: <link>
