Mother Sea, Haha Naru Umi: Sayaka Ganz, on display through March 22 at Artlink in Fort Wayne, features the Yokohama, Japan, born Ganz using reclaimed metal and plastic objects to create sculptures depicting animals in motion with rich colors and energy.
Raised on Japanese Shinto beliefs, Ganz was taught that all objects and organisms have spirits, and objects that are discarded before their time weep at night inside the trash bin. This imagery became very prominent in her growth. The constant need to adjust to a new environment as she moved from Japan to Brazil to Hong Kong during her formative years gave Ganz a strong desire to fit in and to create harmony in her life.
She describes her style as “3D impressionism,” creating an illusion of solid form using plastic objects as brush strokes that become visible upon observation from close proximity.
Ganz taught design and drawing courses at IPFW between 2002 and 2012 and currently has work collected and exhibited in London, Tokyo, Takaoka, Isle of Man, New York, San Francisco, Monterey, Toledo, and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
Some of her recent exhibitions include Danze Della Natura at the Hermann Geiger Foundation in Cecina, Italy, and Metamorphosis, a temporary installation at the Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha, Neb. She also has a permanent installation in the lobby of Cimer Spa at the Paradise Resort in Incheon, Korea.