Machine Art

It would be true but also a cliché to say that Japanese-American painter Fumio Sawa combines two worlds, the East and the West. More strikingly, his work — abstract paintings created with a light pen on a light screen and printed on acid paper — unites man and machine. Or, better, subordinates machine to man. His dynamic, bright abstract paintings definitely look like they were made on a computer, but Sawa's method is more human than you'd think. The artist's work shows the cultivation of different types of painting habits as well as the manual dexterity required by his chosen implement. The results look like a ghost in a machine. Starting tonight at the Hyde Park Gallery (3257 Gillham Plaza), 20 of his 36-inch-by-36-inch works will be on display, printed on acid paper. For more information, call 816-916-9293. Hyde Park Gallery
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Starts: Jan. 4. Continues through Feb. 4, 2008