Light... and Spaces Between
by Sophia St. Claire
Writing about art can be both easy and challenging. With a Monet painting of waterlilies, a writer can talk about the gardens that inspired the artist to make the work, the loose style of brushwork that defined the later years of Monet’s career, what Impressionism meant in relation to the 700year history of the quest for realistic painting in the West that preceded it. The hardest part, though, is to convey the intimate emotional response those paintings elicit from the eyes, mind, and dare I say soul of the viewer – in this case a writer – without tripping over themselves while stumbling to find the words to begin to convey that experience. Experience is the important word here, one that encompasses a multitude in four syllables. Encountering Mary Ijichi’s Assemblage works is entering an experience of a visual phenomenon, one that shifts with every movement of the light, dancing along the edge of the sublime. It is also one that often defies the tools of language to convey it.
To describe how the assemblages are made and their origins within Ijichi’s use of materials is perhaps a place to start. Composed of layers, the most visible of these to the viewer is the sheet of frosted mylar with a rubbed colored pencil drawing on its surface. This rubbing often appears as a lattice work grid of colored lines, though her patterns vary from piece to piece. Behind the mylar is a field of glass and/or plastic beads placed at exact, evenly spaced intervals. The beads can be clear or of different hues, but their presence is critical to the creation of the work. Attached to the other side of the beads is a plastic architectural grid that is about half an inch thick, to which a board is attached on the back side as the final layer of the structure. Ijichi often paints the walls of the grid to imbue them with color that is visible through the mylar. Sometimes the color extends onto the backer board too.
Ijichi arrived at this arrangement of seemingly disparate materials through an organic process of exploration. She began with frosted mylar, being attracted to its translucent properties, and used it to take rubbings in pencil of different types of surfaces to record their textures. At a certain point, Ijichi made the decision to move away from found surfaces like the stone on the side of a building or a piece of wood, and began selecting items like beads and the plastic architectural grid. As she experimented with making rubbings of them, she began to notice how the mylar affected the appearance of the grid and beads, leading her to begin layering them together. The resulting works are hybrid objects that are both drawing and sculpture, but cannot be fully claimed by either genre.
In considering the place these works occupy in the web of contemporary aesthetics, the touch points are many and cross cultural. The most readily apparent are her ties to the legacy of minimalism, especially the version brought forth by Agnes Martin in her paintings of grids on spare canvases. Another is Yayoi Kusama, whose works are composed of obsessive mark making. Ijichi’s latticework grids, syncopated wave lines, bands of color, and other markings comprising the visual vocabulary of her rubbings are a testament to these influences. The obsessiveness also extends to the details of the latticework that is no longer there. When making a rubbing, Ijichi fully
colors in the mylar with colored pencil. She then erases all the squares between the horizontal and vertical lines, and borders, to allow the latticework to emerge. The countless hours and attention to detail needed to achieve this is a testament to Ijichi’s quest for an unencumbered, resonant visual experience.
Another touchstone within Mary Ijichi’s works is their relationship to the Light and Space movement that emerged in Los Angeles in the late 1960s through artists Peter Alexander, Robert Irwin, DeWain Valentine, James Turell, and Helen Pashgian, among others. Different from each of these artists in both presentation and materials, the closest resonances Ijichi’s assemblages have are Robert Irwin’s subtle wall works made from light tubes and his room sized installations the employ scrims of fabric to focus the viewer’s attention to the shape and incidence of light in a space, as well as how it changes across the day. Like Irwin’s works, Ijichi’s assemblages act as durational experiences, but also are not demanding of the viewer’s time to have a fulfilling experience.
Perhaps the most important cultural connection for Mary Ijichi is her relationship with Eastern aesthetics, and in particular the traditions of Japan, where her heritage comes from. Throughout Japanese culture, there is a sensibility to let the materials of an object be themselves, and that any intervention by the artists or maker should only be to bring forth the truest expression of those materials. An artist who achieved this in every piece he made was Isamu Noguchi, whose museum and garden in New York City is one of the most moving places one can ever visit. Each of Noguchi’s sculptures appears whole and autonomous in refinement and execution, with seemingly no presence of the artist’s hand. They feel as if their forms have always existed in a timeless realm and all Noguchi had to do was reach out and bring them into reality. Mary Ijichi’s assemblages have this same quality of transcendence that taps into the basis of perceptual reality itself.
But, what of the experience these works bring to the viewer? What words are there to convey this subtle sensory event? Calm and transcendence are two words that convey some of the feeling that washes over you. Beyond those, the best description I have found is in another sensory medium – music. With the invention of the compact disc and its ability to hold an hour’s worth of music, Brian Eno composed Thursday Afternoon in 1985, a landmark in the history of electronic music. Over a shimmering base layer of ethereal sound, noted from an electronic keyboard lightly dance, skip, rise and fall, and we the listener float through the sound, transported to another plane of existence. This is what I see, hear, and feel within myself when taking in Mary Ijichi’s assemblages. It is a place I never want to leave…
* Sophia St. Claire is writer and critic based in the Bay Area.
Plate 1:
Assemblage #32, 2025 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 15 5/8 x 15 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #32 (detail)
Plate 2:
Assemblage #25, 2023 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 27 3/8 x 27 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #25 (detail)
Plate 3:
Assemblage #19, 2022 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 15 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #19 (detail)
Plate 4:
Assemblage #29, 2024 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 15 5/8 x 15 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #29 (detail)
Plate 5:
Assemblage #28, 2024 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 27 5/8 x 27 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #28 (detail)
Plate 6:
Assemblage #27, 2023 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 27 5/8 x 27 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #27 (detail)
Plate 7:
Assemblage #31, 2024 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 15 5/8 x 15 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #31 (detail)
Plate 8:
Assemblage #24, 2023 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 27 5/8 x 27 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #24 (detail)
9:
Plate
Tetraptych, 2024 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 58 x 57 inches (frame) opposite: Tetraptych (detail)
Plate 10:
Assemblage #21, 2022 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 27 1/2 x 27 1/4 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #21 (detail)
Plate 11:
Assemblage #26, 2023 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 15 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #26 (detail)
Plate 12:
Assemblage #23, 2023 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 15 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #23 (detail)
Plate 13:
Assemblage #20, 2022 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 15 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #20 (detail)
Plate 14:
Assemblage #30, 2024 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 15 5/8 x 15 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #30 (detail)
Plate 15:
Assemblage #22, 2023 colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board, 27 1/2 x 27 3/8 inches (frame) opposite: Assemblage #22 (detail)
Exhibition Checklist
Plate 1: Assemblage #32
2025
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board 15 5/8 x 15 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 2: Assemblage #25 2023
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
27 3/8 x 27 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 3:
Assemblage #19
2022
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board 15 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 4:
Assemblage #29
2024
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board 15 5/8 x 15 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 5:
Assemblage #28
2024
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
27 5/8 x 27 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 6: Assemblage #27 2023
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
27 5/8 x 27 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 7:
Assemblage #31
2024
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board 15 5/8 x 15 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 8: Assemblage #24
2023
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
27 5/8 x 27 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 9: Tetraptych 2024
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
58 x 57 inches (frame)
Plate 10: Assemblage #21 2022
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
27 1/2 x 27 1/4 inches (frame)
Plate 11:
Assemblage #26 2023
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
15 1/2x 15 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 12:
Assemblage #23 2024
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
15 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches (frame)
Works not Exhibited
Plate 13: Assemblage #20 2022
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
15 1/2 x 15 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 14: Assemblage #30 2024
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
15 5/8 x 15 3/8 inches (frame)
Plate 15: Assemblage #22 2023
colored pencil, mylar, plastic, beads, acrylic, linen tape, and museum board
27 1/2 x 27 3/8 inches (frame)
MARY IJICHI
Born in Oakland, CA
Education
B.S. University of California, San Francisco, CA
A.B. University of California, Berkeley, CA
Residencies
2022 Visiting Artist, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, in conjunction with 60 Years of Collecting
2001 The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH
1998 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
1996 Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025 Mary Ijichi: Upon Reflection, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2022 Mary Ijichi: Assemblages, Brian Gross Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
2017 Frottage: The Changing Surface, Artspace Edition Shimizu, Shizuoka, Japan
2014 Mary Ijichi, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2011 Homage to Yayoi Kusama, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008 (Text)ure, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Extrusions, Takada Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 Contemporary Asian American Abstraction, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2022 Gesture/Color/Form, Brian Gross Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
60 Years of Collection, University Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Echigo-Tsumari International Mail Art Exhibition 2022, Gallery Yuyama Niigata Pref., Japan
2021 California Girls 2, Richmond Art Centre, Curator: Tom Marioni 21 Expressions, National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA) Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and Art Fort India (online exhibition and ebook)
2020 De Young Open, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, CA A Global Pandemic: What It Means for Me, Gallery Yuyama, Niigata-ken, Japan
2019 New Encounters 2019, artspace Edition Shimizu, Shizuoka City, Japan
SIA (Society of Independent Artist), Live Worms Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2018 Way Bay 1 and Way Bay 2, Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
2017 Half Hundred Swing Show: Homage to Joseph Cornell 2017, Ao Gallery, Kobe, Japan
2016 Mail Art, Karuizawa New Art Museum, Nagano, Japan
2015 AU International Contemhibition in Naples from Japan port Art Ex, Museo Hermann Nitsch, Fondazione Morra, Naples, Italy
2014 5X5 An Invitational, Westmont Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
Focus Latin America: Art is Our Last Hope, Phoenix Art Museum, AZ
Ex Postal Facto, SF Centre for the Book, San Francisco, CA
Ever Gold 5 Year Anniversary Show, Ever Gold Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013 Arkansas 45th Collectors Exhibition, Arkansas Art Centre, Little Rock, AR
2012 Smalls, Davis & Cline Gallery, Ashland, OR
2011 5 x 5 An Invitational, Westmont Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
2010 Bohemia Gallery, Ashland, OR
2009 Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Illegiblusion, Sabina Lee Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 What is a Line? Yale University Gallery, New Haven, CT
2004
2003
Los Angeles Asian & Tribal Arts Show, Santa Monica, CA
Issho/Together: Japanese American/Japanese National Artist in America 1941-present, Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA Curator: Bob Hanamura
AAWAA Group Exhibition, d. p. Fong Galleries, San Jose, CA
Light, Surface, and Translucence, Davis & Cline Gallery, Ashland, OR
Fine Lines: Drawings from the Collection of Wynn Kramarsky, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA
In the Making: Contemporary Drawings from a Private Collection, University Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
2001 Traces, Palo Alto Art Centre, Palo Alto, CA Curator: Signe Mayfield
1999 They Hold up Half the Sky – Redefining the American Art Landscape South of Market Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
1998 Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996 Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL
1995 Vantage Point – Abstraction, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL
Biennial Print and Draw Competition and Exhibition, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
Women of Color in Art, Carver Cultural Centre, San Antonio, TX
1994 Yellow Forest, SOMAR Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993 Ebert Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Time Echoes, C. N. Gorman Gallery, University of California, Davis, CA
1992 Gathering, Lite Rail Gallery, Sacramento, CA
Different Voices, University of California, Santa Barbara – Women’s Centre, Santa Barbara, CA
Sixth Parkside National Small Print Exhibition, University of Wisconsin, Parkside, Kenosha, WI
1991 Art Works Gallery, Fair Oaks, CA
Community Arts Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1990 Fort Mason Foundation Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
1989 Worden Gallery, San Francisco, CA (two person show)
Fort Mason Foundation Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
Bibliography
2024 Van Proyan, Mark. Contemporary Asian American Abstraction at Paul Thiebaud Gallery, Square Cylinder. June 26. (online).
Commissions
2016 Villa Montalvo 5-Hour Sculpture
Collections
Archive of American Art (John Held papers)
Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA
Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA (Sol)LeWitt Collection
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Cover: Assemblage #28 (detail), 2024
Rear Cover: Assemblage #24, 2023
Copyright 2025 Paul Thiebaud Gallery. All Rights Reserved. Images copyright 2025 Mary Ijichi. Essay copyright 2025 Sophia St. Claire.
Design: Greg Flood and Matthew Miller. All images, photo: Matthew Miller.
No portion of this document may be reproduced or stored without the express written permission of the copyright holder(s).
PAUL THIEBAUD GALLERY
