NEW YORK, NY.- GR gallery is presenting ‘Arcadia’, a duo exhibition featuring artists Glendon Cordell, making his New York debut, and Takuya Yoshida, returning for his second project with the gallery. The show presents a total of 16 paintings on canvas that reflect -with their bright tones and uncluttered compositions- on the intertwined relationship between the artist role in their actual zone and the idealization of such place in their work. ‘Arcadia’ aim to highlight the memory of our surroundings and their lasting impact on our lives through a journey characterized by rustic innocence and simple, quite pleasure.

‘Arcadia’ invites the audience into an idyllic realm, carried by the gentle breeze of spring. The landscapes of Cordell and Yoshida evoke both nostalgia and the quiet beauty of everyday life. Drawing inspiration from the surroundings of their studios nestled far from the bustle of city life, in Tasmania and Hokkaido, respectively—the artists create utopian landscapes infused with the rhythms of daily existence, expressed through their vibrant brushstrokes.

Cordell’s work captures evocative scenes of rural landscapes, depicting tranquil meadows and rustic settings with a visual language influenced by Australian Indigenous painting traditions and stylized with abstract hints. Yoshida offers a contemporary reinterpretation of pastoral themes. His primitive forms and innovative techniques challenge conventional perceptions of the countryside, introducing a distinctly modern sensibility.

Through their vivid and pure expressions, the two artists' portrayals of bucolic landscapes invite viewers to reconsider the role of nature-connected imagery and its place within urban life. Thus, rather than simply offering an escape from the automized life of the big city, these works serve as a guide for reconnecting with nature, encouraging a more attentive gaze toward the environments we inhabit. Furthermore, the composition of each artwork, resembling the view from a studio window, fosters a sense of continuity between interior and exterior spaces. This connection not only reflects the relationship between the artists and their environments but also offers audiences a moment of introspection, allowing them to rediscover themselves through the lens of the surrounding landscape.

Glendon Cordell (b. 1980, Tasmania) is an abstract landscape painter from Tasmania, Australia. He captures undulating hills, the deep hues of Australian waterways and the burnt mustard of sun kissed fields, highlighting the technicolor dreamscape of Australia. Cordell’s work explores the relationship between color, texture and formations of mark making on canvas. He noted, “It is simply my hope to relay emotions of calm and enjoyment through my work.” In the process of artwork, Cordell uses layer upon layer of acrylic paint, ensuring his work is detailed and concise by experimenting with gouache and water color but prefers a malleable acrylic base for his work.

Cordell is a graduate of the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Given this academic underpinning, Cordell has a particularly refreshing perspective of his art, with a simple focus on conjuring joy in the viewer and garnering artistic appreciation.

Takuya Yoshida (b.1986, Tokyo) is a Japanese artist currently living and working based in Hokkaido. His canvas conveys a desire for peace and universal love, combining the sensibility of the Japanese kawaii (“cute”) pop culture he grew up in with the assured color and composition skills which he cultivated at art school in the United States. The motifs that appear on Yoshida’s canvases include creatures with a somewhat lonesome appearance, evenings, nights, and skulls. These motifs continually appear strange and awkward likenesses of people who strive to be strong in the face of the indescribable feelings of suffering and decay they face. Yoshida received his MFA from the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and sculpture in 2013, and his BFA painting from Plymouth States University in 2011. He is a recipient of the Hohenberg Travel Award in 2013 and the Michael Clark Rockefeller Class of 1956 Visiting Artist Fund in 2022.