Takashimaya Gallery, Takasaki, Japan

The magic of being in the midst of a Jim Hay gallery show is difficult to imagine. From the intimacy of a bowl of fruit, sculptural on a flat surface, rendered with love to epic tales that twisted the course of history and generations to follow told with unforgettable color and texture, one cannot take it in all at once. And yet, here are some photographs of the setting, the people, and some of the art work presented at the Takashimaya Gallery in Takasaki, Japan. Click on the images to view larger versions.
Gallery	Jim Hay describes a piece.
“Early Layers of Black and White”	“Gentle Layers of Color”
World’s First FruitCars Races: Series of three	House Series: four houses
Purple Series of five	Orange Series of five
Photo Combines: Flotilla With Captain Jim and Chicago Apples	Gallery photo, “Heron with Ear Muffs”, and “Great Blue Heron”
Water and Boat Series of three.	Other pieces in this show. March, 1961 Breakfast 1953 Popcorn Hay For Sale Tightrope — Third Prize Creative Quilt Japan Grand Prix 2015, Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival
Two faces: Red Man and Two Face	Time to enjoy a “Snack and a Beer”

As he sews he watches the Japanese farmers tend their tiny fields. The artwork grows with the seasons, a gentle fusion of Kabuki theater, Mongolian Yurts, castle tapestries and a directness and humor that is only American.

Jim Hay is an American artist dealing with the limited working space of his small Japanese house. Kimonos and easily rolled up scrolls point the way toward fabric assemblage as a solution suitable for our global village. It is clean, needs few tools, offers all the colors of the world's cloth and can be rolled up for storage and easy shipment abroad.

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