Born in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, Japan, Leiko Ikemura emigrated to Europe in 1973. A Japanese-Swiss dual citizen, Ikemura has been living and working between Berlin and Cologne since 1990. Formative memories from her native Japan find as much resonance as the impressions from her early stays in Spain and Switzerland in the 1970’s and 80’s, which accompany her to this day. The intimate metamorphosis of a lifelong painting process manifests itself in landscapes in which human figures and nature merge, amorphous forms and hybrid mythical creatures in continuous transformation. Leiko Ikemura’s works have been presented in solo and group exhibitions worldwide. Most recently, the Centro de Arte Caja Burgos exhibited the solo show Leiko Ikemura: Aun más mañanas (spring 2021).

Barbara Pollack is cofounder and co-director of Art at a Time Like This, a platform for expression for artists and curators to respond to the most pressing issues of the 21st century. Considered a leading authority on Asian contemporary art, she curated the recent exhibition Mirror Image: A Transformation of Chinese Identity at the Asia Society Museum in New York. Her latest book, Brand New Art from China: A Generation on the Rise is available from Bloomsbury Publishing. She is the recipient of two grants from the Asian Cultural Council, and received a Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writer Grant in 2008. Pollack teaches at SVA.