John T Koga

Miami, FL – April 21, 2015 – Miami’s creative set gathered at Ralph Pucci’s Wynwood showroom for the opening of artist John Koga’s solo exhibition. The artist’s biomorphic sculptures took center stage as guests enjoyed sips of Cupcake Prosecco and CoAqua Coconut Water. If you missed the evening’s preview, be sure to read more about John Koga’s latest body of work in the April/May issue of Cultured magazine.

John Koga may be Hawaii’s most well known living modernist. His whimsical sculptures are thoughtful extensions of the experimental modes within 20th Century sculptural abstractions established by Noguchi and Henry Moore while being intergalactic. World Red Eye seized the opportunity to catch up with John T Koga and Ralph Pucci, where they give us an inside look into this latest exhibition.

WRE: Tell us about your latest exhibition at Ralph Pucci?

JTK: This series of forms are from a body of work called Walking Trees and Walking Stones. The tripod legs sort of levitates the forms to feel movement. The forms represent the spirit, beauty, sense of playfulness, lightness and spiritual side within nature.

WRE: Are the shapes of your sculptures intended to emulate something you have experienced or seen in the real world?

JTK: The shapes/forms represent the beauty of spirit within natural forms such as trees and stones. The shapes/form are definitely drawn from all living things. There is a mathematical calculation in proportions (the golden means) that help us to see and feel comfortable with the natural objects we are looking at.

WRE: How long does it usually take you to come up with new ideas? Where do you draw inspiration from?

JTK: Coming up with “new” ideas happens quite often in my mind. The next step is if my mind feels the idea is strong enough to draw in my sketch book. Often times the drawing will resolve the piece and that’s it… but every once in a while I will need to build, sculpt, paint and install the idea in an actual piece. For the Pucci Miami exhibition, like other shows in particular spaces, I often find inspiration from the space. I like to see the dimensions, lighting, entrance, walls, other objects in space, floor, color and whatever else my senses pick up.

John T Koga

I’m most creative when I’m presented with a problem to solve.

John T Koga

WRE: How have people understood your emotional expression through your sculptures?

JTK: Collector have often talked about how the “walking series” turkey feels like they turn the lights off in the evening the sculptures come alive and move about their homes and return to their original placement.

WRE: How has your Hawaiian roots influenced your work?

JTK: Being in the arts in Hawaii has helped me understand color, shapes, lines and trying to translate Hawaii’s abundant beauty in an abstract way to communicate its essence within and not what you see in front of you.

WRE: What is a typical day in the studio?

JTK: A typical day in the studio is based on the idea that “being and working” in the studio space should be part of the daily routines. Sleeping, working, cooking, eating, surfing and gardening. My creative time in the studio balances my daily life.

WRE: When are you at your most creative?

JTK: I’m most creative when I’m presented with a problem to solve. In this specific case with Pucci Miami; How do I create a body of work that fits in “the space” with the “surrounding environment” and with my basic idea of beauty from within.

WRE: Tell us why you felt John T Koga’s work was a perfect fit for your gallery?

RP: I am always looking to create the ‘wow’ factor in my galleries by showing fresh, modern and original work – John’s sculptures are fearless the perfect fit for Ralph Pucci.

WRE: How closely did you work with John T Koga in putting together the layout of an exhibition?

RP: I work very closely with the artists in the presentation. For the John T Koga installation, I was inspired by a jazz cover from the late 1950’s by the Art Farmer Quartet and thought the colors would be the perfect backdrop for his plaster and bronze sculptures.

John T Koga & Nikki Baron

WRE: What do you want John T Koga’s work to say about your gallery?

RP: That we are not afraid to take chances and to show new unexpected, groundbreaking work.

John T Koga, Ralph Pucci, & Jason Rubell

I am always looking to create the ‘wow’ factor in my galleries by  showing  fresh, modern and original work – John’s sculptures are fearless the perfect fit for Ralph Pucci.

Ralph Pucci, Owner of Ralph Pucci Showroom

John T Koga & Michelle Rubell

John T Koga, Ralph Pucci, Michelle & Jason Rubell

Sarah Harrelson, Fernanda Domit, & Austin Harrelson

Michael & Ralph Pucci

Mark Minichiello, Michael & Ralph Pucci, & John T Koga

Karin, John T, & Maile Koga

Karin & Maile Koga

Sofia Sohl, Lexing Zhang, & Lucrezia di Persia

Nick D’Annunzio

Ralph Pucci & Jason Rubell

Lauren Pellrano Gomez, Sarah Harrelson, Michelle Rubell, & Adriana Sandoval

Michele Hanash & Fiona West

Richard Toledo, Joanne Reyes, & Gregory Gonzalez

Ryzzy Byckovas, Jaya Kader Zebede, & Ethan Royal

Deborah Wecselman & Austin Harrelson

Adriana Sandoval & Lauren Pellrano Gomez

Dan & Tina Carlo

Michael Pucci, Camilo Alvarez, & Andrea Galvez

Nick Poole & Bruna Indalecio

John T Koga

John T Koga & Lucrezia di Persia

Nikki Baron, John T Koga, & Dan Negas

Charlie & Margaux Borradaile

Edison Lozano & Robert Rionda

Nicole Postick & Heather Schatz

Gail Feldman & Susane R

Susane R & Armando Collado

Susane R, Armando Collado, & Barbara & Edward Deppman

Nicole Bostick , John T Koga, & Heather Schatz

John T Koga

Karin, John T, & Maile Koga

Juan Poggi & Dorothea Brand

Bruna Indalecio & Nick Poole

Eric Cody, Lori Warriner, Andrea Galvez, & Camilo Alvarez

Michele Hanash & Fiona West

John T Koga

Nikki Baron, John T Koga, & Dan Negas

Michael Pucci, Esperanza Arias, & Juan Carlos Arcila Duque

Ken Lieber, Todd, & Peter Hawrylewicz

Juan Poggi, Ralph & Michael Pucci

Richard Toledo, Ken Lieber, & Peter Hawrylewicz

Rafael Balcazar, Shelley Gordon, Jaya Kader Zebede, & Ralph Pucci

Jaya Kader Zebede, Rafael Balcazar, & Susanne Birbragher

Michael Pucci & Mark Minichiello