GR Gallery is excited to present “Arcadia,” a duo exhibition featuring artists Glendon Cordell, making his New York debut, and Takuya Yoshida, returning for his second project with the gallery. The exhibition will showcase 16 vibrant paintings that explore the intertwined relationship between the artist’s role in their actual zone and the idealization of such places in their work. “Arcadia” aims to highlight the memory of our surroundings and their lasting impact on our lives through a journey characterized by rustic innocence and simple, quiet pleasure.
“Arcadia” invites the audience into an idyllic realm, carried by the gentle breeze of spring. The landscapes of Cordell and Yoshida evoke both nostalgia and the quiet beauty of everyday life. Drawing inspiration from their studios—nestled far from the bustle of city life in Tasmania and Hokkaido, respectively—the artists create utopian landscapes infused with the rhythms of daily existence, expressed through vibrant brushstrokes.
Glendon Cordell captures evocative scenes of rural landscapes, depicting tranquil meadows and rustic settings with a visual language influenced by Australian Indigenous painting traditions and stylized with abstract hints. Takuya Yoshida offers a contemporary reinterpretation of pastoral themes. His primitive forms and innovative techniques challenge conventional perceptions of the countryside, introducing a distinctly modern sensibility.
Through their vivid and pure expressions, the two artists’ portrayals of bucolic landscapes invite viewers to reconsider the role of nature-connected imagery and its place within urban life. Thus, rather than simply offering an escape from the automated life of the big city, these works serve as a guide for reconnecting with nature, encouraging a more attentive gaze toward the environments we inhabit. Furthermore, the composition of each artwork, resembling the view from a studio window, fosters a sense of continuity between interior and exterior spaces. This connection not only reflects the relationship between the artists and their environments but also offers audiences a moment of introspection, allowing them to rediscover themselves through the lens of the surrounding landscape.
Glendon Cordell (b. 1980, Tasmania) is an abstract landscape painter from Tasmania, Australia. He captures undulating hills, deep hues of Australian waterways, and the burnt mustard of sun-kissed fields, highlighting the technicolor dreamscape of Australia. Cordell’s work explores the relationship between color, texture, and formations of mark-making on canvas. He noted, “It is simply my hope to relay emotions of calm and enjoyment through my work.” In the process of creating art, Cordell uses layer upon layer of acrylic paint, ensuring his work is detailed and precise by experimenting with gouache and watercolor but prefers a malleable base for his work.
Takuya Yoshida (b. 1986, Tokyo) is a Japanese artist currently living and working in Hokkaido. His canvases convey a desire for peace and universal love, combining the sensibility of Japanese kawaii (“cute”) pop culture with assured color and composition skills cultivated at art school in the United States. The motifs that appear on Yoshida’s canvases include creatures with a somewhat lonesome appearance, evoking feelings of strength in the face of suffering and decay. He received his MFA from the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture in 2013, and his BFA from Plymouth State University in 2011. He is a recipient of the Hohenberg Travel Award in 2013 and the Michael Clark Rockefeller Class of 1956 Visiting Artist Fund in 2022.
Established in 2016 and located in the Bowery, downtown Manhattan, GR Gallery contributes to the New York contemporary art scene as a partner to international artists and an artistic destination for visitors. The gallery is dedicated to showcasing multigenerational artists who explore various media with a dynamic approach to chromatic vibration and borderless figuration. GR Gallery independently hosts an average of ten exhibitions annually and participates in several art fairs, inviting artists to unfold their artistic expressions and supporting them in expanding their work globally.
Photo credits: Property of the gallery.
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