Yuki Goodman’s otherworldly mixed-media works tap into the dual mystiques of nature and femininity. Goodman paints sweeping, theatrical portraits of idealized women. Part icon, part dream, these images are awash in bold patterns and vibrant colors. They juxtapose pensive, realistic figures with lush flowers and undulating flourishes that glow with inner light. These women are one with the natural world.

 

Goodman is an admirer of both eastern and western artistic traditions, and both these influences can be seen in her unique aesthetic. She creates her pieces with a combination of watercolor and acrylic ink, two light and sleek media that she deploys with the precision of centuries-old Japanese ink paintings. Her lines are thin and deliberate. Her use of clashing, flattened blocks of pattern also recall Japanese block printing. Her portrait-like compositions allude to Art Deco techniques, and her free use of mysticism and abstraction of the body is found across the western tradition of painting.

 

Goodman was born in Japan and today lives in Vancouver, Canada where she maintains her own home studio.