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Central to my work is the Japanese time space 
concept called ma which literally means an empty  

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space or void that exists between two structural 
parts of an architecture this empty space also  

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exists in our daily life such as a space between 
events thoughts or moments and the space is really  

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not empty but it is filled with many meanings 
just like the silence between notes of music  

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also in japan when you bow when greeting someone 
at the end of the bow you leave a little space  

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before you rise back up again and that little 
space that silence also expresses many things  

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like respect honor regrets or grief so 
this concept of space in between is uh  

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very much integral part of my process because 
my work requires to build up multiple layers of  

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paint to achieve luminosity and the depth so this 
process is very slow and it takes a long time  

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typically a painting could take from three to 
four months but sometimes if it’s a more complex  

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composition or experimental piece then it 
could take anywhere from six months to a year  

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and i can only paint one layer per day because the 
paint needs time to dry so i apply one layer and  

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let it dry overnight and the next day i sand 
and apply the next layer and the process  

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repeats itself until the painting is built up 
to about 50 layers or more which at the end  

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achieves this multi-dimensionality in quality 
or in the perception of that of the piece

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so i live in in point richmond in northern 
california which is part of the san francisco bay  

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area so we’re surrounded by water and nature and 
i love to spend my free time sailing or hiking or  

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walking on the beach with my dog i see that my 
work is a visual manifestation of times passing  

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i’ve come to appreciate nature 
when i took a one-year sailing trip  

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in the south pacific that experience 
had a long lasting impression on me  

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because living on the boat sailing from island to 
island the life or the time passed by very slowly  

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like a minute felt like an hour you literally 
lived by the moment this this also is the basis  

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of my my work it’s it’s embedded in my 
work which is to create this times passage

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depth of space slowness observing 
how the light changes the environment  

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it changes the color how the light does this 
little dance i cast shadow and and refracts lights  

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creates these magical moments which is what i try 
to capture in my work visually it’s intriguing and  

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the ephemeral beauty of nature is is 
something that i am always drawn to

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many of my artist colleagues have had 
wonderful experiences with the Art in Embassies  

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and i just submitted my work maybe five 
years ago or so but when i heard from  

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Art in Embassies that was maybe four 
years later so that was a surprise

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so yes i mean i was really excited that 
my work was displayed in the parts of the  

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world that i have never been to it’s really 
an honor i think art in embassies has just  

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a wonderful program that brings artists 
to to places and truly serves as a bridge  

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to different cultures it is 
a great great program i think

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you