COVER | Kota Ezawa
Modernist Folksong, 2017 (color aquatint; 29 x 30 inches; edition of 30, image courtesy of the artist and Paulson Fontaine Press). Kota Ezawa’s work references images from popular culture, cinema, television, and art history. Working in a variety of media, Ezawa distills iconic images to their most essential form using flat, simple, and colorful shapes. The simplicity of Ezawa’s imagery amplifies its impact and communicates the symbolic power these images have on the collective psyche. In Modernist Folksong, he brings together a reference to the famous modernist series, Homage to the Square by Josef Alberts, and a photograph of the iconic folk artist Joni Mitchell. Ezawa’s work will be included in the upcoming 2019 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Modernist Folksong is in the collection of the Achenbach Foundation, a Fine Art Museum of San Francisco. Modernist Folksong is available as part of Kala Art Institute’s annual benefit auction, which will be held on Saturday, April 6, 6-9:30 p.m. Celebrating Kala’s 45th year as a print studio and gallery, this special anniversary auction brings together Kala’s creative community and features the inventive and meaningful art being made in the Bay Area. Tickets are available at www.Kala.org/kala_auction or by phone, 510-841-7000.