Gallery Artists: Janet Hansen Kawada

My work takes many forms: sculptural, object, wall piece. Consistent with the work is the marking of time by using techniques that require human intervention to create the materials used in the art making. Layered, textural surfaces evoke memory: a smell, a touch, a sense of longing. The human element that puts the mark on the surface reaches through the layers built up in the work. Without this interaction, the marks would not appear. Without the input of the artist, the images would have no meaning. In this process, mark making on the surface becomes a language awaiting interpretation from the viewer. While the delineations are not always evident, the layering is an important process in the making of the work and parallels the complex make-up of human nature. We mark ourselves with tattoos and jewelry; we mark ourselves with scents and perfumes. We try to leave our mark on the world.

Ms. Kawada is on the faculty of the Massachusetts College of Art and the New England School of Art & Design. Her works are in collections throughout the United States and Canada.

Title: Wanderlust
Medium: handmade felt, cane, yarn
Size: 41" x 58"

Title: Map 1
Medium: handmade felt, feathers, snake skin, wire, shells
Size: 39" x 43"

Title: Sleeping Beauty
Medium: llama, roses, glass, wood, handwoven ikat fabric
Size: 51" l x 6" w x 28" h

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