Ringling College of Art and Design Alumna Chie Fueki receives first mid-career survey exhibition at Sarasota Art Museum
Works spanning over 20 years transform scenes of everyday life into the extraordinary
Acrylic on mulberry paper on wood, 12 x 22 in. Private Collection, Courtesy of Shoshana Wayne Gallery. Photo: Gene Ogami.
Sarasota, Florida — Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design is proud to present “Painting the Floating World,” the first mid-career survey of works by Japanese American painter Chie Fueki. Running October 18, 2026–April 4, 2027, this exhibition highlights the 25-year trajectory of Fueki’s artistic practice, celebrated for transforming scenes of everyday life into luminous, extraordinary spaces.
“Surface is one of the most important aspects of my work,” explained Chie Fueki. “How raised, how flat, how matte, or how shiny the treatment of an area is—this is a really big part of my thinking while making.”
In addition to her elaborate surfaces, Fueki is known for her ability to translate the mundane into the magnificent. Her subject matter is simple and familiar, ranging from portraits—usually inspired by friends and family—to landscapes to still-lifes. Regardless of subject matter, Fueki’s large-scale, mixed-media panels move fluidly between figuration and abstraction and are at once intimate and expansive, customary and cosmic.
Acrylic, pencil, colored pencil, collage on wood panel, 84 x 72 in. Private Collection, Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York.
In “Aiko and John” (2010) Fueki depicts two figures in a domestic setting, seated at a table. It is as if the viewer has caught a quiet and candid glimpse into a private moment of daily life. Aiko types on a laptop while John reads from a book or magazine. A black and white cat perches atop the table while another lounges in the background. In the foreground, two dogs surround the feet of the figures, giving the still scene a further sense of home. Cabinets, shelves and furniture follow extreme and shifting perspectival systems, which hold these figures and animals in space. The abrupt angles make the figures appear as if they are floating, lifting off the mounted board—at once one with their environment, while also seemingly suspended within it.
“The portrait paintings begin by going into someone’s space and drawing them in person,” shared Fueki in an interview with Hyperallergic in 2021. “But when I come home, it is not really about the appearance of the person, but rather the whole experience that gets translated.”
Another work, titled “Mt. Fuji,” (2004) features an erupting volcano occupying space within the confines of an oblique drawing of a cube. Inspired by the artist’s Japanese heritage, this work explores identity and place, depicting the iconic landmark in blazing red-orange pigment. Black flowers and a skull make up the billowing smoke hovering just above the eruption. The lines of the cube seem to contain the magma blast, while also creating a sense of stillness and stability—a direct contradiction to this depiction of an otherwise seismic event.
For Fueki who was born in Japan, grew up in Brazil, and moved to the U.S. for college, symbols like Mt. Fuji served as more of a concept than a place.
“Mt. Fuji became a symbol of a place that felt like it was supposed to be home,” explained the artist. “The Mount Fuji that I knew was not the realistic Mount Fuji, but the way Hokusai represented in various depictions of his Fuji, which was more exaggerated. His red Fuji is, of course, so iconic and prolific, so I made my own fluorescent orange version in homage to his well-known work.”
“Many of Chie Fueki’s previous exhibitions have focused on specific bodies of work, created concurrently with a unifying theme. ‘Painting the Floating World,’ however, positions early large-scale figurative paintings alongside newly created abstract prints, mirroring her own method of collapsing time and space within her paintings,” shared Lacie Barbour, curator of modern and contemporary art at Sarasota Art Museum. “This exhibition offers a special opportunity for visitors to experience the ebb and flow of Fueki’s multicultural influences, intimate subject matter, intricate processes and remarkable surface treatments throughout various stages of her life and practice.”
Fueki’s influence is national with such recent solo exhibitions as: KinoSaito Arts Center, Verplanck, New York (2024), Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, Utah (2023); DC Moore Gallery, New York (2022); Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson, New York (2023); Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Los Angeles (2005, 2008, 2013, 2023); Mother Gallery, Beacon, New York (2020), Mary Boone Gallery, New York (2006, 2011); Bill Maynes Gallery, New York (2002, 2003); and the Orlando Museum of Art, Florida (2014). Her work is included in permanent collections of the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Orlando Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; San Jose Museum of Art; The Pizzuti Collection at Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.
“Chie Fueki: Painting the Floating World” is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Lacie Barbour, curator of modern and contemporary art, with Rangsook Yoon, Ph.D., former senior curator.
About Sarasota Art Museum
Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) is the city’s only museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Founded in 2019, SAM features an ever-rotating lineup of world-class exhibitions, dynamic programs, and enriching educational offerings, and serves as a creative gathering place for curious minds from across the Gulf Coast, Southeast United States, and beyond. Housed in the historic former Sarasota High School, the Museum has revitalized and reimagined the towering landmark and architectural treasure, connecting Sarasota’s past with its present. Today, SAM is home to 15,000 square feet of gallery exhibition space, where nationally touring shows, as well as curated and commissioned exhibits by both renowned and emerging artists, deepen visitors’ appreciation for 20th- and 21st-century art. More at SarasotaArtMuseum.org