Nancy Uyemura: A Life of Love Connected to Others

By Kelly Uyemura

When people describe Nancy Uyemura, the word they use is “humble”. She doesn’t brag, she’s especially generous and she always goes out of her way to reach out to others. Her artwork spreads across Little Tokyo, yet what she’s truly known for in the community is her character. Wishing to bring greater recognition to her as a talent and person who deserves to be known, Little Tokyo supported “nancy 2024,” Uyemura's latest exhibition at LA Artcore.

And yet, there’s so much of her life that the art can’t tell.

“nancy 2024” became almost like a memoir for the visual artist. As noted in her gallery statement: “It’s specific to my world -- the Japanese American world of post WWII, Los Angeles, And more precisely how and why I became an artist. A memento to LiVE LIFE not so much a memento mori.”

The exhibit was filled with art pieces ranging from the 1970s to the early 2010s, large paintings hanging from the walls and tiny sculptures situated on display box shelves. Her wide range of art details the world that Uyemura saw during her life and the exhibition reflects her story.

“[My teacher] said to me, ‘Well, what do you want to do? Do you want to sit in a lab, or do you want to do this?’ So, was there a choice?”

Uyemura was born August 7, 1947, in Santa Monica, California, and grew up in Crenshaw, going to Coliseum St. School, Audubon Jr. High and Dorsey High School. Her father’s side of the family is from Kagoshima, and her mother’s side is from Tōhoku. She attended Japanese school before she began attending kindergarten, though she doesn’t recall being too fond of it; as the first grandchild of the school’s founder, she didn't feel that mandatory attendance was quite the honor.

Uyemura never took art classes growing up. The extent of her artistic exploration was creating class bulletin boards as an assignment from her teacher and drawing a self-portrait in kindergarten — two rather small projects (one a considered “failure”) for someone who would eventually excel in the craft.

“One time, I think it was kindergarten, I did a full-size self-portrait, and I couldn’t do the pigtails. I messed up on it,” Uyemura recalled. “So, the teacher at back-to-school night told my parents, ‘Oh, she did really well up to this point, and then she couldn’t do the hair, and she got frustrated. She just messed it up!’”

She laughed at the memory and paused to look at the gallery surrounding her. “It’s the funny things you remember, right?”

When Uyemura was in high school, she originally decided to be a science major, but her art teacher saw a talent budding in her that deserved a chance to bloom. She secured the young student a scholarship in ceramics at Mount Saint Mary’s University. Between high school and college, Uyemura ended up taking ceramics and 3D design from a graduate student who was getting his master's degree in ceramics at UCLA.

He encouraged her to continue her art, asking, “Well, what do you want to do? Do you want to sit in a lab, or do you want to do this?” When she finished at Mount Saint Mary’s, Uyemura became an art major at UCLA earning a bachelor's degree in Art and Design. She would also receive an master's degree in Education from USC.

Her education wouldn’t end there. Her love for Japanese ceramics took her across the Pacific to Japan to study the art. She met with a curator who knew of a couple just outside of Tokyo who would teach her. The husband, Tsuji-sensei, took Uyemura in for a couple of months to learn ceramics, specifically how to craft clay.

“Visually and sensually, the experience of doing that was really amazing, and I was really fortunate to even do that,” Uyemura said. “And what I did was — it was so cold 'cause it was February — I sat in a corner, literally sat in a corner, on a little stool and pounded these rocks. And the rocks were pieces of clay. They dig up the soil, mix it with water, knead it and that’s what they make their pottery with.”

After her time in Japan, Uyemura attended Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Arts and Design) where she met her mentor, Matsumi “Mike” Kanemitsu.

“I’ve been in this neighborhood for some 40 somewhat years. So, I’ve seen it grow and go down and up and down. It’s my community and my neighborhood.”

In 1984, Uyemura moved to the 800 Traction Avenue building in what is now the Arts District of Los Angeles, becoming one of the early residents to live in the newly created “artist lofts.” During that time, she co-directed Gallery IV alongside Kanemitsu and two gallery owners from Japan: Taeko Tamaki from Osaka and Takeo Morita from Nagoya. The gallery showcased artists from Japan and local Japanese American artists in the district.

Uyemura also worked alongside Sandy Gooch, her master teacher at USC. She worked for Gooch’s Natural Foods Market for many years before it became Whole Foods, worked as the Visual Communications director and in the media/décor studio within 800 Traction. Uyemura illustrated Gooch’s book, “If You Love Me, Don’t Feed Me Junk!,” an informational book about food sensitivities and nutrition, published in 1983.

Uyemura also began showing exhibitions across both the United States and Japan. Her favorite memory of an exhibition took place on the Izu Peninsula in Japan at the Modern Art Gallery. She remembers with fondness how the whole town came out for the show. The children sang and danced to traditional folk music and everyone brought food. A transcendental and overwhelming experience of human connection made the exhibition being one of her most favorite events.

The artist has become a part of multiple different communities over the years she’s lived in Little Tokyo. She’s a part of the Little Tokyo Historical Society, Arts Action with Sustainable Little Tokyo and the LT Compost Bin that meets once a week and collects garbage that turns into soil for a local garden. She participates in a Zen aerobics class at Zenshuji, shodo calligraphy at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center and does her best to attend a tai chi class on Saturdays. Overall, she tries to participate in “anything that needs helping,” but also loves to be part of community activities as a whole.

Over the years, Uyemura has been asked to create public art around Little Tokyo and the Los Angeles area. Some notable pieces are two canvases in the Little Tokyo Library, the terrazzo for the Ground Transportation Center at the Ontario International Airport, and a mixed media sculpture piece titled “Harmony” in front of Casa Heiwa in Little Tokyo. “Harmony,” a large fan-shaped piece, acts as the entryway to the Little Tokyo Service Center, the founder of the affordable housing building and the Grace Iino Childcare Center. “Harmony” tells the story of Uyemura's life growing up and the diversity of Los Angeles, so she added photos of friends, neighbors, students and people who lived in downtown LA. She describes it as a scrapbook of her life during that particular time. To Uyemura, any public art that is sensitive or considerate of the community is good. Specifically, bringing in a kind of beauty or peaceful expression to a particular place is what one should seek to achieve.

In 2017, the 800 Traction Avenue building was purchased by DLJ Real Estate Capital Partner, which eventually sent out eviction notices to all the artists residing there. Uyemura rallied with the other remaining tenants in the building, planning to fight against the eviction and the gentrification of Little Tokyo. However, the eviction and buyout of the building went forward despite their efforts. Ever since, Uyemura has been without a studio.

“Since I don’t have a studio anymore, it’s really hard. I can’t really do any painting or big painting. I sort of miss that,” she said. She has been a pillar in the fight against the gentrification of Little Tokyo and she continues to work towards saving the historical neighborhood.

The eviction hasn’t stopped Uyemura from continuing to create her beautiful works, however. Little Tokyo Towers is an apartment complex in the heart of Little Tokyo that was created as affordable housing for seniors. In 2024, the building underwent a large renovation, and Uyemura was given the opportunity to create a piece of public art there. Bee Connected featured 65 creators who each had a tile with a piece of their artwork on it. Her main focus for the piece was of people in the community who are artists or closet artists endowed with meaning and something to contribute that people may not see. It was to “bring those connections to light so people can see that everyone is connected somehow and everyone has some art or artist somewhere inside of them.”

The piece lived up to its name when Uyemura recognized contributing artist Yasuko Ogawa, whom she had never met before, at a dinner for a visiting friend from Japan. A greeting and an exchange of contact information led to her recalling an artist who had contributed a ceramic piece to Bee Connected. A similar encounter happened with Sunny Seki, another contributor.

“We are all connected,” Uyemura said.

Indeed, we are more than we know. We must remember the people around us are a part of our community. We’re not so separate after all.

Connections are what has brought Uyemura to where she is now. “nancy 2024” was formed due to a connection between Uyemura and one of the curators and took four years to build. Bee Connected wasn’t the work of Uyemura's connections alone — it was a creation formed by a network of artists, some who never knew each other at all before, who all contribute to Little Tokyo and thus connect through the neighborhood. Word of mouth led to her exhibitions around the world. Much of her activism is built on her relationships with the people and home around her. Many in Little Tokyo, if you ask, can easily say they know Uyemura and their faces light up with a big smile if you mention her name.

“It’s like when you start to work at the painting, you sort of build up a rhythm. And so, it’s sort of like a dance, or a song.”

Remarking on her process, Uyemura begins her work with a prayer or some meditation. She may take a bit of time to start and really let her ideas come to fruition, but as soon as she begins, she makes quick work of her art, working fast yet with great care for her pieces. She builds up a rhythm when she creates, and it’s a feeling that she truly enjoys and believes is one of her favorite parts of making art.

When it comes to her artwork, Uyemura doesn’t usually focus on specific themes or messages. Rather, it’s based around what she sees and feels around her. Space, Wind, Earth, Fire, Water (Homage to Kanemitsu series) is a tribute to her mentor. Kanemitsu’s personal five elements were space, wind, earth, fire, and water; thus, she created a piece with each panel representing the five elements. Another piece, Los Angeles, was created with the intent of showing the diversity of the city, each dot and color representing the people that make up the city, all eventually forming into the words Los Angeles.

Uyemura’s Northridge 1994 series holds a personal significance in regard to her mother. Her mother loved to collect dishes, and whenever they’d go to Japan, the two of them would collect ceramics. Uyemura's mother lived in Northridge during the earthquake in 1994, and unfortunately many of the ceramics broke, leaving them utterly heartbroken. But Uyemura went straight to collecting all the broken dish pieces. Rather than throwing them out, she promptly made three different pieces of art while repurposing the ceramics she and her mother loved, giving them another life as another brilliant work of art.

The creation of her paintings depends on where Uyemura is and if she’s moved by something she sees visually such as a field of rice in the spring or during harvest time. Her Falling Bamboo (C.R. Rainy Season) piece was inspired by bamboo leaves falling from a tree and Her View from my window series was based on what she sees and hears outside her window, such as a gust of wind or how the light reflects off a tree. Her Snow piece reflects the different types of snow that can be found in Japan.

“It’s really figurative,” Uyemura said, “but it’s what I feel and can see.”

This reflects in much of her artwork, many of them having a connection to things she views and her perception of them.

“I think there is a certain sensibility that I have about Japan and Japanese aesthetics that shows up in my colors, my palette and the materials that I use.”

When asked about her personal identity, Uyemura said that since she was born in America, she is American, but she identifies as Japanese because of the racial implications, and she has always grown up and lived around Japanese Americans. She also mentioned that when she was in Japan, she felt that she was American, and “I just look Japanese.”

And yet, the river runs deep; Japanese American elements emerge naturally —instinctively — into everything she does. The fabric of who she is reveals itself in her work. 

One major series Uyemura has created that reflects this is her Ura and Omote series. The “inner self and outer self” works reflect the inside part of you versus what you show to the public. These mixed media sculptures are constructed out of wood panel with a mirror attached to the back. While the front of the wood panel showcases an outwards appearance the soul projects, or omote view, the mirror reflects the ura or inner soul’s presence and what brings them peace.

Ura and Omote reflect the self as much as Uyemura does as a person. Her inner and outer selves reflect a view of being, whether it be Japanese in an American setting or American in a Japanese setting. While her art is American because so is she, it is also Japanese. It is both and neither simultaneously, just like her.

“There’s a difference in what you do, the materials you pick up, the energy that goes into your work versus later on in an artist’s career. I think that there is some things that get better and there are some things when you’re younger that’s better.”

Even with many years of experience with exhibitions, Uyemura still feels a sense of vulnerability. She feels exposed — the work is not good enough — or afraid of what people will experience when seeing it. While she says that she’s gotten older so she doesn’t care as much, the vulnerability is still here. Still, she believes that it’s good to get her work out and it’s necessary to show the world.

“As I get older too, I don’t have that stamina or that energy like before,” Uyemura explained. “I didn’t really realize this until now that I’m getting older that there is a difference when you’re younger and the stuff that you make. Like writers or poets, when they get older, it’s better. They have more to draw from and it goes deeper. Sometimes that happens with artists and sometimes it doesn’t because it’s physical.”

The lack of a studio space makes larger pieces nearly impossible for Uyemura as well.

Her first show, “A Personal Touch” was held at Amerasia Bookstore, which was located in Little Tokyo during the 1970s and 80s. Her most recent exhibition at LA Artcore, which ran during October, gave her satisfaction in finding that her shows had come full circle in a neighborhood she cherishes.

“If they have that passion or that feeling that they need to express themselves through… I think it’s important they tell their own story, whether it’s Japanese, Japanese American, or American… whatever it is, and that it comes from their soul, their spirit.”

A statement for nancy 2024 reads: “I dream of a life well lived full of adventure with billions of stars and skies filled with all kinds of clouds so much to love, love the life of the dream within a dream.”

The quote is a poignant statement to which she replied, “I think it’s a poignant exhibit,” reflecting the events of the lives around her.

“Everybody’s getting older and because of that and people getting sick and dying, you need to live your life one day at a time to the fullest,” Uyemura explained.

There was a strange sort of grief watching life go by, but also seeing her life turned out pretty well, inspiring a statement of a life lived to the fullest.

When it comes to the next generations, Uyemura believes that they should tell the stories they want to tell, and to make sure to do it with their very soul.

“I think being [Japanese American], you have a certain viewpoint; it is special and unique. Yes, there is a certain majority out there that overshadows you but know that you are important. You are worthy,” she said. “Use [your voice] and get it out there. Remember that dream.”

Having grown up a Japanese American woman wanting to learn and grow in a very white male dominated scene, she fought for her right to learn and grow as an artist, be given a chance and flourish into the talented creator she is today. Now, she encourages others to do the same and to ensure that others’ stories can flourish and can go out in the world.

When asked how her life is in relation to her work, Uyemura noted,

“It’s very similar. It’s very hodgepodge and eclectic and I sort of do what I want to do at the time, more or less, and not thinking about whether that’s a good way to navigate life and the world.”

She says this with a smile, surrounded by all she’s built in Little Tokyo: her works, her connections, her community and her home.

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