Michiko Itatani was born and raised in Kobe, Japan. In college, she had an early passion to become a writer. After some reflection, she decided instead to pursue the visual arts. In the early 1970s, Itatani moved to Chicago where she has spent her professional adult life. She studied, and now teaches, at the Art Institute of Chicago, was a founding member of NAME Gallery, and is a fixture of the city's art and critical scene.

Itatani's work springs from her continuing immersion in literature and has over the past three decades explored themes of self/others, micro/macro, the body and questions about theoretical space/hyper space. She has said of the range of themes in her work that studio work and painting are the vehicles through which she tries to achieve a tangible grasp of the various subjects she reads about... a way to understand intellectual considerations in physical terms.

She paints on a large scale and is prolific. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is in numerous public and private collections.

In this exhibition, Itatani explores aspects of the body, the naming of its parts which in Chinese characters all contain a reference to the moon; how experience is held in memory; and reflections on reproduction.

The gallery is open Wednesday-Saturday 2-6pm and by appointment. For further information call (937) 767-1711.

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