Miki Kato-Starr

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Miki Kato-Starr was born in 1975 in Sweden and raised in Japan. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland. She received her MFA from the University of Minnesota in Printmaking. In 2005 she was an Artist in Residency at Art Studio Itsukaichi in Tokyo. Miki has exhibited internationally in Canada, Estonia, Holland, Japan, Poland, and Turkey. This will be her first solo exhibition in the United States.

“Art is a visual voice that can communicate without actual language. I am fluent in three spoken languages that lead to the exploring of cultural boundaries in my works. Born in Sweden to a Japanese father and a Polish mother and raised in Japan, my childhood was a constant journey of searching for identity. My installation for this exhibition reflects this feeling of displacement. The folded paper boats arranged on the floor are made from the paper used by movers to wrap my belongings when I left Japan for the U.S. last fall to escape the threat of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. My artwork has changed as a result of this accident because my life has changed. I need to address current problems in Japan in my work in an effort to learn from them.”
— Miki Kato-Starr