HANCOCK SHAKER VILLAGE IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE PUBLICATION OF
A Spirit of Gift, A Place of Sharing
Shaker objects are products of thought embodying deeply held beliefs that remain our direct link to Shaker life. The intersection between their outward expression of religious beliefs and their spiritual orientation is key. A Spirit of Gift, A Place of Sharing explores the visible and tangible links between nineteen century Shaker ideology and contemporary Asian art through the works of Yusuke Asai, Kimsooja, and Pinaree Sanpitak. The Shakers integrated the physical with the spiritual -and this is where the artists’ transcultural kinship lies, sharing in a reverence for the unseen sources of their inspirations. Asai, Kimsooja, and Sanpitak have expressed a conceptual approach to the essence of what the Shakers embodied, the joy of physical labor, spiritual affinity, and a biocentric approach to creation’s bounty in the diversity of materials they employed in their works such as linen, cotton, wood, soil, water, plants, and animals. Collectively their art works embody unique contemporary expressions in synthesis with deeper universal meanings. Their works have been on view at Hancock Shaker Village and the catalog includes color photos throughout and a foreword by Director Jennifer Trainer Thompson and essays by curators Linda Johnson and Miwako Tezuka.
Yusuke Asai’s work has been exhibited in multiple exhibitions throughout Japan, China, and the United States, most recently Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, Texas.
Kimsooja’s work has been exhibited in more than thirty international biennials and triennials. She has had solo exhibitions at MoMA, New York, Centre Pompidou, France, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, as well as multiple exhibitions in Seoul.
Pinaree Sanpitak is Thailand’s most internationally recognized artist whose work has been exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) among others in the United states as well as major biennials in Australia, Italy, Japan, and Korea.
Hardcover, 11.4 x 9”/85 pages/color
Edited by Jennifer Trainer Thompson, Linda Johnson, and Miwako Tezuka
Published By Hancock Shaker Village
Printed in Chicago, IL
