Friday 3^rd April – 23^rd April 2009

Japanese-born Makiko Nakamura will hold her fifth solo exhibition at the Peppercanister Gallery in April 2009. An abstract painter with an international reputation, Makiko enjoyed a sell-out solo show at the gallery in 2007. In 2006, she held an outstanding exhibition comprising five large scale works at Farmleigh House, Dublin, in homage to Samuel Beckett in the centenary year of his birth. A special interest in the writings of Beckett drew her to explore his country of origin and Makiko moved to Dublin in 1999 where she still resides and works to this day.

Since her arrival in Ireland Makiko Nakamura has distinguished herself as an artist of immense skill and intensity. Her finely worked abstract paintings are based on the meditative repetition and erasure of grid like structures and are distinguished by a highly burnished, reflective surface. She states "in my paintings I repeat the act of painting and erasing. Always thinking about the relationship between something being erased and the idea or the actual experience of disappearing. In the experience of disappearing something is always lost. Perhaps the idea of being and non-being is not far apart in my work."

Makiko Nakamura is essentially a pioneering, passionate abstract painter with a unique, highly-refined technique who devotes her entire life to making innovative art Ð art that is beautiful, subtle and sustaining. Her paintings are highly original and distinctive in appearance, and have a still, meditative quality which provides a welcome respite to the hectic world outside.

The paintings from MakikoÕs show in April 09 are founded on the theme of love. In her wordsÉÓIt's the love stories those you might have forgotten but the memories are still flickering around you. Happiness, warmth and quiet passion. All paintings are talking about loveÓ. Chocolate Afternoon and First Love Again are two such works to be included in this show and in keeping with this theme, their rich red tones exude warmth, passion and fire.

Makiko has also had several one-person exhibitions in Ireland in the Fenderesky Gallery, Belfast; Ashford Gallery, RHA, Dublin and Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. She has also had a number of solo exhibitions in London, France, Japan and the US and has contributed to numerous group exhibitions internationally. Examples of her work are to be found in the following public collections: Office of Public Works, Ireland; AXA Insurance, Dublin; Limerick City Gallery of Art; Boyle Civic Collection; Ireland; American College, Pennsylvania, USA; Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris; Centre Culturel Lutherien de Paris and Takenaka Construction Company; Japan. Her work is also to be found in private collections in Ireland, UK, USA, France and Japan.

The Private View will take place on Thursday 2nd April 2009 from 5.30 to 7.30pm and the exhibition will continue until Thursday 23rd April 2009.

Further information available from Antoinette, Bryan or Karyn at 01 6611279.