Spoke Art gallery is proud to present “The Black Robe” a three person exhibition featuring new works by Barron Storey, Mike Dringenberg and Keita Morimoto, curated by our friends at Eidolon Fine Arts.

The Black Robe” brings together three generations of notable artists and their interpretations of legendary Japanese Tanka poet Ono No Komachi.

Though written over 1,000 years ago, Ono No Komachi’s poetry remains as fresh and relevant today as it did then. Komachi speaks of truth, longing, lust and transience, reminding us of the constant universality of human experience. Hundreds of years before the romantic poetry of Dickinson or Sappho, Komachi possessed a lyrical and deeply insightful window into the matter of the the human heart.

Barron Storey, M. Ian Dringenberg and Keita Morimoto bring Komachi’s work to life in a series of works filtered through their own experiences and histories (and, of course, their prodigious talents). From the multi-layed collages and intricate line work of Storey; to the luminous, ephemeral canvases of Dringenberg; and finally, the lush and radiant oils of Morimoto, each image acts as a mirror, reflecting Komachi’s timeless sentiments. Combined, these three very different artists give us a unique viewpoint into not only Komachi, but also into themselves, and through the universal nature of the work, into all of us.

Legendary artist Barron Storey has graced the covers and pages of Time magazine, National Geographic, and the New York Times, among many others. Barron’s works reside in the permanent collections of the American National History Museum and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, as well as in private collections all over the world. A noted educator as well, Barron has been instructing and inspiring artists for three generations.

One of Sandman’s co-creators, M. Ian Dringenberg is a multiple award winning artist and illustrator who has also exhibited in galleries in the States, Belgium and France.

“ince since moving from Japan in 2006, Keita Morimoto has been strongly attracted to the Western tradition of painting and its history. Through figurative work, Morimoto creates characters that portray the current age of inescapable visual influence, resulting in the hybridization of multiple cultures and their art forms. Through portraiture and figuration, the work blends various representations of the human figure borrowed from the history of Japanese and Western art.

View the works from this exhibition here