In the Nikkei of Time Latin American Artists of Japanese Descent Fuse Cultures in Fresh Way by Deryl Davis Quick: Whoís your favorite Nikkei Latin American artist? Your what? Latin American artists of Japanese descent may not be as well known outside their home turf as political fireball (and former Peruvian president) Alberto Fujimori, but a new exhibit at the Inter-American Development Bank aims to change that. ìNikkei Latin American Artists of the 20th Centuryî features artists from Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Mexico in an exhibit that bridges East and West, revealing the fascinating ways these artists incorporate their bicultural heritage into works that are fresh and new. Western-style realism, abstraction and perspective meet traditional Japanese two-dimensional landscape, calligraphy and line drawing in these paintings and installation artworks, which are truly international in form and style. These big, bold canvases invite the viewer to explore the terrain of two very different cultures, while also connecting with the universality in each. The majority of the 10 artists represented here are from Peru and Brazil, countries that first we lcomed large numbers of Japanese immigrants in the early 20th century. Peruvian artist Venancio Shinki Huaman and Brazilian artist Manabu Mabe (born in Japan) stand out in this small exhibit with large canvases that are at times abstract and polychromatic, at other times figurative and dominated by only one or two colors. Both artists came of age in the mid-century period when Latin American art was heavily influenced by European abstraction. The late Mabe, perhaps the best-known artist in this exhibit, moved from more traditional artistic forms to abstraction in the late 1950s, and then returned to figurative depiction near the end of his career. Mabeís 1963 painting ìAgonyî reflects his interest in black-and-white composition and his study of calligraphy, where bold brushstrokes often highlight a flattened surface. Here, a white-brown form reminiscent of a grasshopper or praying mantis seems to move through endless space, its body lined with calligraphy-style hatch marks and its head a bright, almost violent red. By contrast, 1980ís ìSolemn Pactî reflects the artistís later, more lyrical style: Pleasing blues and whites stand out amid smaller abstract forms set against a black background. A playful theatricality is apparent in the figures (is it a fisherman?) and the slack, white line falling down the center of the canvas. One gets the sense that the ìsolemn pactî (perhaps between fisher and fish) may be a joke, but one in which we all share. The Western figurative tradition is even more apparent in the work of Peruís Huaman, who combines realistic, oftentimes classical, forms with abstract and symbolic elements. His huge, three-panel ìCompendiumî (1992) dominates the exhibitís back wall. Mysterious and enigmatic, it combines fragments of Greek and Roman statuary with geometric shapes and allusions to traditional Japanese painting (a stereotypical image of Mount Fuji is evoked in the center panel, while the shelf near the top of the left panel resembles a flying crane). There are even references to the landscape of Huamanís native Peru in the cactus stretching upward like a hand in the center panel, with the bullís head above it and desert flowers to the left and right. The red globe of the sun above the classical statuary in the right panel is almost a summary of the artistís intent, an exposition on artistic origins. Standing back from the giant 76-by-153-inch canvas, one sees that even the structural form is a combination of East and West: a Western style triptych painted against a flat, burnt-red background evoking traditional Japanese shoji screens. The works of two other Brazilian artists, Tomie Ohtake and Yutaka Toyota, are notable for their Japanese-style simplicity and formalism. The influence of calligraphy is obvious in Ohtakeís ìUntitledî (1968), in which two thick, violet strokes intersect at mid-point, one slightly darker than the other, with the rough outer edges reflecting a modern, non-traditional sensibility. Similarly, Ohtakeís ìUntitledî (2002) presents a traditional Asian-inspired design, also symmetrical, in which one half is complete and the other is seeminglyóand intentionallyóunfinished. Toyotaís ìIn the Time Before Nothingî (1960), with its solid geometrical shapes and calm earth tones, blends traditional Asian landscape and modern abstractionís fascination with the juxtaposition of forms. The mixed media work would fit equally well in a Zen garden or a modern art museum. Peruvian artist Carlos Tanakaís ìThe Journeyî (2005) is the most recent piece in the exhibit and its only example of installation art. A very personal reflection on the meaning of displacement and transience, ìThe Journeyî is composed of three parts: a circular arrangement of 36 origami crabs mounted on the wall; a glass-and-marble-topped photo of Tanakaís grandfather set against a giant paper crab on the floor; and a streaming video of Tanaka creating the elaborate origami crabs. For Tanaka, the crab is a symbol of the nomadic spirit that the artist shares with his grandfather, who moved from Japan to Peru early in the last century and later drowned at sea at the age of 36. By coincidence, the artist nearly drowned at the same age himself, and afterward found himself lying on the seashore surrounded by crabs. ìThe Journeyî is, in part, Tanakaís attempt to move backward to recover his own past and that of his emigrant grandfather. The ìNikkei Latin American Artistsî exhibit concludes with two ink-on-paper pieces by Mexican artist Luis Nishizawa. His companion ìCopper Canyonî (1989) pieces evoke the landscape tradition in both Japanese and Mexican art, with their bold, dark shadings, moody skies and geography devoid of human activity. You have to look closely at these pieces to recognize that you are looking at a desert landscape and not a typical Japanese sea and mountain backdrop. ìNikkei Latin American Artists of the 20th Centuryî provides a fascinating look at how Eastern and Western, as well as ancient and modern artistic traditions can be melded together into compelling new forms, expressing the artistsí sense of being, almost literally, in two places at once. ìNikkei Latin American Artists of the 20th Centuryî runs through April 29 at the Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center, 1300 New York Ave., NW. For more information, please call (202) 623-3774 or visit www.iadb.org/cultural/. Deryl Davis is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.