Dreams of Reality is Yoko Akino’s eagerly awaited solo exhibition at SO Fine Art Editions.

The fine art prints in this exhibition reflect the influence of the world around Akino, lived experiences and the feeling of wonder for nature and all that life offers. The physical landscape of mountains and islands seem unchangeable, as if they have been there forever, yet their contours and colours are altered constantly by passing clouds and rain-showers that appear and disappear in unfolding dramas, filtering the light of the sun and moon, that is then refracted from the seas. Mountains are extinct volcanoes and islands are drowned mountains. Nothing appears as it did a moment or a millennium ago. Everything we see is new.

Akino’s etchings and aquatints are minimalistic, yet capture the stillness and motion of shadow and light on the dramatic shapes of our natural world. Her use of colour, crisp lines and pattern encapsulate the beauty of Akino’s world and draws the viewer in to be engulfed in that compelling beauty.

Yoko Akino was born in Kyoto, Japan and studied drawing from the age of nine. She moved to Ireland in 1996 and began working in Graphic Studio Dublin, where she is now a member. Her work is held in many private and public collections, and is widely recognised as one of Ireland’s leading printmakers.