The American Buddhist Study Center (ABSC) is pleased to announce that it will be holding a fine art virtual auction from November 30-December 6 that is titled “Illuminating Reflections” and will feature the works of artist Ken Horii. The auction is being held in support of the centre, which next year will be celebrating its 70th anniversary.
Photo – American Buddhist Study Center archives ©
“We are fortunate to have such an accomplished artist provide his artworks for our auction,” said Hoshina Seki, president of ABSC. “Ken Horii’s body of work visually exemplifies who we are and what we have been doing since 1951 when my late father, Rev. Hozen Seki, founded the centre to introduce Buddhist values and Japanese culture to America.”
Seki further said that as a third-generation Japanese American, Horii’s roots are in Japanese culture. “They do not seem to have left him,” Seki said, “his art is an example of bridging east and west. Though it is contemporary abstract art, looking at it, you know it is Buddhist. When you see it, you can feel it.”
The virtual auction will open at 10 a.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 30 and will close at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, Dec. 6, and the artworks are available for viewing now on the center’s website www.ambuddhist.org, along with a video of the artist discussing his work.
“Like so many others who have been adversely impacted by Covid-19, this fundraiser will hopefully help our study centre continue our programs, many of which are offered free of charge, into 2021,” Seki said, adding that a portion of each art purchase will go directly to support the ABSC and its mission.
Horii, who sees his work as a confluence of contemporary art practice and concepts of Buddhist philosophy, is a professor emeritus of Spatial Dynamics in the Experimental and Foundation Studies Division at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is in a corporate, museum, and private collections in Chicago, Boston, and New York.
“I am very pleased to advocate support for the vibrant programming offered by the American Buddhist Study Center,” Horii said. “I love the tools that help me realize my work and like the study centre, they are vital partners in the pursuit of advancing endeavours toward a better understanding of what is essential in Buddhism. For this ABSC fundraising event, I am presenting 25 pieces for auction, ten works on paper, and 15 sculptures.”
