Cosmic Wanderlust 1 & 2
Michiko Itatani
Glass
2017, Arts in Transit
Oil on canvas paintings by Michiko Itatani are transformed into luminous glass murals to enliven and enrich the north and south lobbies of the mezzanine. The title, Cosmic Wanderlust 1 & 2, describes both the imagery in the artwork and the artist’s creative process. As a painter Ms. Itatani is a storyteller akin to a novelist who crafts fictional narratives to illustrate universal truths and emotions.
The artist states, “Cosmic Wanderlust 1 & 2 is about human history and culture of the past, present and future. In these compositions libraries, museums, public spaces and performance halls are intermingled with images of the cosmos. It is my fiction based on the human desire to reach into the mental and physical space beyond our grasp, inward and outward. My fiction is always incomplete, fragmented, and under inquiry. As Chicagoans and visitors make their way via the CTA to Chicago’s important sites, work places, and residences, it is my wish that my art would inspire this desire for knowledge and give hope.”
Michiko Itatani is a Chicago artist and a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her artwork is exhibited in public and private collections worldwide. Locally, her work is in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Harold Washington Library Center. Ms. Itatani is a recipient of prestigious awards including the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council and the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowships.
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