Norman Takeuchi
"Confusion, shame, and embarrassment" the incredible Norman Takeuchi overcomes all in triumphant show - see the Citizen article on line here.To view a slide show of images from the triumphant Cube solo show in 2010 please click here.
Ottawa artist Norman Takeuchi remembers his Japanese-Canadian family's exile during World War II through the eyes of a young boy on an adventure. "We, along with other Japanese-Canadians in B.C. were forced to evacuate our homes on the coast and move inland," Takeuchi recalls. "My parents had to leave almost everything behind, including dad's new truck, which I think broke his heart." While he and his two young brothers had a good time, "running around the countryside, it was our parents who suffered, trying to make ends meet. They would have dealt with it with shikata ga nai , a resolution and determination to make the best of it." As an adult, Takeuchi uses his art to express his struggle and ultimately his success in finding the harmony, resolution and beauty that comes with inheriting two distinct cultures. For Norman, being born to Japanese parents and raised in predominantly white Anglo-Saxon Vancouver in the 1950s was not a clash of cultures but a melding of strong, diverse currents.
"His powerful colours, flowing lines and thoughtfully rendered drawing reflects this cross cultural tug running through his veins," says curator Don Monet. "The results are strong yet sensitive, delicately attuned and powerfully emotive."
Price Range: $500 - $4,000
