Seattle-based artist Ko Kirk Yamahira has exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States and abroad, both individually and as a member of the artist collectives SOIL (-2021), creates unique hanging installations that blur the lines between painting and sculpture by meticulously unweaving the threads of canvases, essentially "expanding" the two-dimensional plane and allowing for diverse installation possibilities depending on the wall space, where shadows and the wall itself become integral parts of the artwork; his deconstructed pieces aim to transcend the limitations of a single viewing perspective, inviting viewers to experience a multidimensional, meditative space through the subtle variations of each site-specific installation.

I consider that the subjectivity is formed through the repetitive process of deconstructing the existing objects, and ruminating on such process. There is no specific aim to find a meaning, neither in the creative act itself, nor through the creative process. The totality of the meaning can be found in the continuation of the process. Therefore the reason for the creative act would be found in different inquiry.

The obsession of pursuit of the meaning is unlocked by the pure enjoyment of creative act. The obsession in turn would release the meaning of the search by forgetting the initial inquiry. There are innumerable ways to enact the process, however there is one answer to the result of the process. Within the answer contains two opposing perspectives that has no hierarchy. The point of view, both subjective and objective, as well as the scale of the perception would affect the location of the answer. I sense the distance to the answer gets ever more shorter as I repeat the inquiry.

The answer certainly exists in the past and it could simply be overlooked. The past always has the potential for the new discoveries for me. Since the inquiry originates within my mind, thus the approach to look and find the answer can change completely. It shifts while depending of my state of mind. So it is both firm, as well as transient. Creation of the artworks comes after my deconstructive process on already existing canvas, separating vertical and horizontal threads. The totality of the meaning can be found in the continuation of the process. Therefore the reason for the creative act would be found in different inquiry.

2025
MR. Salon Wall - studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
2024
Seattle Art Fair, represented by studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
"Northwest School Now” Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, WA
"TOKICO” studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
"Untitled" Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA (2018~)
2023
“the front to the reverse to what is in between,” Russo Lee Gallery, Portland, OR
"The Pike Overlook" Curated by fruitsuper” USBC Cedar Hall, Seattle, WA
Seattle Art Fair, represented by studio e gallery and Russo Lee Gallery, Seattle, WA
"Understory: Connection through creativity and fine art" Curator Tami Landis, Paper Whale, Canopy Gallery, Bow, WA
"The Third Meaning: ESTAR (SER) Installs Frye Collection" Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA (2022~)
2022
studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
"Meander" Curated by fruitsuper, Foundry Vineyards, Walla Walla, WA
“Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art” Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA (2021~)
Portable Collection, City of Bellevue Art Program, Bellevue City Hall / Bellevue, WA
"PICNIC" studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
Seattle Art Fair, represented by Russo Lee Gallery and studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
2021
“Light & Graphite,” A lantern in the hand on a dark winter night, studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
Russo Lee Gallery, Portland, OR
“New Works,” SOIL Gallery, Seattle, WA
2020
“fractions" Russo Lee Gallery, Portland, OR
“American Contemporary Craft,” The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock, TX
"Emily Counts & Ko Kirk Yamahira" studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
“Fiber2020” The Bainbridge Island Museum of Contemporary Art, Bainbridge Island, WA
"PAUSE/PLAY: Gallery 4Culture Online" 4culture.org, Seattle, WA
"The Seattle Deconstructed Art Fair 2020 - SDAF" studio e gallery, Seattle, WA
Shunpike, Seattle, WA
2019
4Culture, Seattle, WA
Seattle Art Fair, represented by Russo Lee Gallery, Seattle, WA
“Prepped,” Community Education Gallery, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
San Francisco Art Fair, represented by Russo Lee Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Deluge Contemporary Art, Victoria, BC
“By and By: Hope for the Future” presented by Durden & Ray and SOIL, Los Angeles, CA
2018
"Drawn Out" Curated by Zack Bent, SPAC gallery, Seattle, WA
Russo Lee Gallery, Portland, OR
"The Harvest" Curated by Sequoia Day O'Connell, Bridge Productions, Seattle, WA
"The Veil” Curated by Sequoia Day O'Connell, Bridge Productions, Seattle, WA
"Ko Kirk Yamahira” Curated by Amanda Donnan, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA
SOIL Gallery, Seattle, WA (2015, 2017, 2018)
“Becoming American” SOIL gallery, San Juan National Historic Park and various locations in Seattle, WA
"Storefront 2018" South Lake Union, Shunpike, Seattle, WA
2017
"Deconstruction And Reconstruction” Sun Gallery, Seattle, WA
"Interstate: Where I-90 Meets I-82,” Biennial National Juried Exhibit, Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Ellensburg, WA
"Deconstruction” Mithun Design Threshold Gallery, Seattle, WA
"Seven Bodies - New Members Show" SOIL gallery, Seattle, WA
"Bellingham National Juried Art Exhibition and Awards Juried by Catharina Manchanda” The Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA
"Deconstruction,” Integrus Architecture, Seattle, WA