December 4, 2023 by Les Roka
In Chie Fueki’s portraits, the auras and energies emanating from the individuals are mesmerizing, a fantastic probe of a deeper understanding of one’s self as an aggregate of their environment, interests, identities and their interactions with a physical world. Personality tests, zodiac charts and quizzes about being introverted or extroverted might be revealing to some and nonsensical for others. But, there also are photographers and painters such as Fueki, who works with many different motifs in her art, that create complex, rich portraits either showing how one’s inner energies and auras evolve and morph with their experiences or auras that are set and constant. In some instances, they are clear while in others, the individual appears absorbed in complex, dense networks indicating many potential points for intersecting moods, vibes and energies.
A finely curated exhibition of some of Fueki’s portraits as well as examples of her more recent work portraying interior settings without figures is up through Jan. 6 at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) in downtown Salt Lake City. Currently based in New York’s Hudson River Valley, Fueki, who was born in Japan and raised in Brazil, received the 2023 Catherine Doctorow Prize for Contemporary Painting. The prize, which has been awarded every two years since 2011, is supported by the Doctorow Foundation. Fueki also received a $15,000 unrestricted cash award.
