Sumire Skye Taniai (CV)

Sumire Skye Taniai was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan, and has been living in the states for 18 years. She received her BFA in painting from University of Missouri in 2016 and received an MFA with a full merit scholarship from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019.

Since then, she has curated a group show in her hometown in Japan, had group shows at Elmhurst Art Museum, Research House for Asian Art, Chicago, IL, Parlour and Ramp Gallery, Chicago, IL, Asian Students and Young Artists Art Festival in Seoul, South Korea, and recently accepted into the Flat Files Program 2020-21 at Collar Works located in Troy, NY. She is also a monthly contributor for ADF Magazine based in Tokyo, covering emerging artists in Chicago and Kansas City.

"It is such a privilege to have lived and experienced two countries on somewhat of an equal level. They are always mingled and tangled together within me, sometimes harmonious, other times they are wrangling and at war with each other. They shaped who I am, it is my identity. My work will always be about the experiences of these two countries, even when I don’t intend to." -- Sumire Skye Taniai

Artist Statement

My new body of work is playful, experimental, and personal. I make work about the story of my bicultural identity and upbringing. For people who possess two distinct cultures, we are often subject to feelings of confusion, frustration, and isolation. I came to a realization recently that we have a better understanding of each other’s  intentions and help to problem solve to find a middle ground. I believe it is a privilege to have access to different cultures and my work focuses on its positive side of the bicultural identity. 

Two different sources- floating Japanese characters and abstracted imagery flutter between tension and harmony. Leaving Japan and relocating to the U.S. Midwest at an early age, most of my early language has been forgotten or never learned. Recently, the desire to teach Japanese, and internet accessibility has led me to become serious about my language studies. References to the midwestern landscape and memories from Japan can be gleaned from the intimate wall sculptures, block prints, watercolors with funky wood frames, and mixed media collages.