Artwork copyright Aki Sogabe. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

Artwork copyright Aki Sogabe. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

Artwork copyright Aki Sogabe. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

One Ocean View, 1995

Aki Sogabe
(Japanese, born 1945)

Location: Harney Elementary, Vancouver

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Northwest artist Aki Sogabe creates her works using "Kiri-e," a traditional Japanese technique in which compositions are constructed through intricately cut paper. This piece uses elaborate layers of patterned and textured paper to create the stylized form of a mountain, the silhouette of foregrounded hills and reflected light across a body of water.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Vancouver School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Northwest artist Aki Sogabe creates her artworks using "kiri-e," a traditional Japanese technique in which images are made with intricately cut paper.

Sogabe was in middle school when she made her first paper-cut artworks. She studied design and illustration at the Japan Art Institute. In 1978, she moved to the U.S. and introduced kiri-e to the Pacific Northwest. She is also an award-winning children's book illustrator. Her public art is installed in Seattle's Pike Place Market (panels showing the history of Japanese American farmers), the "Dragon Tower" at Uwajimaya Village in Seattle, and other sites in Washington State. She lives in Bellevue, Western Washington.