The Passage Verbatim reflects social amnesia to tragic news

NEBRASKA CITY - Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts presents "The passage verbatim" by Jave Yoshimoto. On display September 1 – October 21, 2022, a Gallery Talk will be hosted on Thursday, September 15, at 5 pm in conjunction with KHN's monthly Third Thursday Artist Talks, 5 – 7 p.m.

Jave Yoshimoto is an Omaha-based artist and educator of multi-cultural background.  He was born in Japan to Chinese parents and immigrated to the United States at a young age.  He has since traveled and lived in various parts of the country, influencing his artistic practice.

Yoshimoto's work takes on the ephemerality of news and information and how the emotions we bring to each tragedy in the news cycle are swept away by the wave of information that floods the media. He addresses this social amnesia through his art, with the work acting as a social memory for tragic events so quickly forgotten in our information age. This exhibition, The passage verbatim, is a collection of laser engraved and cut relief sculptures by Yoshimoto, inspired by researched humanitarian stories along his journey across multiple states and countries.  In this work, he retells the narrative of passed down tales from the locals he met while on his travels depicting curiosity, heartbreak, and strengths of the human spirit when faced with incredible challenges.  

Yoshimoto received his Bachelors from the University of California Santa Barbara in Studio Art, his Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Painting and Drawing and Masters of Art in Art Therapy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and his Masters of Fine Arts in Painting at Syracuse University.

Yoshimoto has been published in multiple publications and websites, received a letter of recognition from the United Nations, was awarded the Joan Mitchell Foundation's Painters and Sculptors Grant in 2015, and exhibited works nationally and internationally. He currently works as an Assistant Professor of Art.

Image: "Momento Mori", 2021, laser cut relief, gouache on wood,

 Jave Yoshimoto. Courtesy of the artist, all rights reserved.