Opening: February 26, 2010, 7 pm

Opening Hours: Mon thru Thu 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; Fri 10 a.m. until 3.30 p.m.
Showing until April 30, 2010
No Entrance Fee

By hosting this exhibition, the JDZB is seeking to promote dialog between Germans and Japanese through the medium of abstract art. Both artists are masters of color and creating fascinating works of art on canvas bringing the materiality of colors to life. The paintings are full of contrasts: they are at the same time abstract and figurative, lively yet peaceful, intensive in color but calm. Both artists experience the two cultures from afar and close-up and present how different and – at the same time – how similar we can express the world and the feelings of color and forms.

Setsuko Ikai was born in Tôkyô in 1941 and has lived for many years in Dusseldorf. She studied at the Musashino Art University in Tôkyô, Escola Surperior de Belas Artes in Lisbon and the Folkwangschule für Gestaltung in Essen. The interplay between Western and Asian culture is ever present in her works. For example, she uses Japan paper and ink, minimizes the number of colors and uses two plates in etchings as a symbol for both cultures.

Gerda Berger was born in Selb (Upper Franconia – southern Germany) in 1945 and studied sculpture with Gunter Granget, painting, techniques and art in context at the Universität der Künste (Berlin) as well as multimedia and Computer graphics at CIMdata. Ms Berger is showing works from her series “Weitergehen”, “Winterreise” and “Turmbau” (moving along, winter travels and tower building). She lives and works in Berlin.