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Kay Watanabe

PRINTMAKER AND VISUAL ARTIST

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Kay Watanabe is a Brisbane-based visual artist with her main medium being printmaking, but she has recently diversified into painting, drawing and sculpture. Born in Tokyo, she moved to Australia in 2005.

Kay actively exhibits in shows and art fairs in Australia and internationally. Her works were selected for numerous shows and she was awarded various awards and commendations.

Most recently in 2017, she won the printmaking award at the annual COSSAG (Cathedral of St Stephen Art Group) show in Brisbane  Her artist book was selected for the Manly Book Award 2017 in Sydney. She also participated in the ab + mf 2017 jointly organized by Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, and Grahame Galleries.

As well as exhibiting her works in Australia, Tokyo and abroad, Kay, through a Tokyo gallery, participated in such international commercial fairs as Affordable Art Fairs in Europe. In Brisbane, she participated in GOMA (Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art) Winter Design Market in 2017.

Often Kay’s artworks are themed around humanity’s relationship, both amongst themselves and with their environment. The themes of nature, natural disasters, environmental issues, conflict, and political and social situations are often seen in her works. She frequently chooses plants and planets as her motif, as she becomes more humble about a human being’s relationship with their surroundings. She focuses on the beauty of nature, which amazes people and, which, at the same time, might make them feel humble, spiritual and possibly scared.

Kay also teaches printmaking through various organisations, including Queensland’s art peak body Flying Arts Alliance, Artisan (Queensland Centre for Craft and Design) and State Library of Queensland Shop. She is passionate about promoting art, and has extensive experience in curating exhibitions and organizing art classes

Works

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