LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of Art presents Kaz Oshiro: Chasing Ghosts at Charles White Elementary School as part of its ongoing engagement with the museum’s surrounding community. Los Angeles–based artist Kaz Oshiro is recognized for his re-creations of full-size replicas of everyday objects, including microwaves, dumpsters, and file cabinets. Many of his works appear as ready-made objects, however, they are constructed mostly from canvas. By using painting materials to fabricate sculpture, Oshiro’s work blurs the distinction between two media. Kaz Oshiro: Chasing Ghosts features new works by the artist, a collaborative project created by the artist and Charles White Elementary School students, and objects from LACMA’s permanent collection selected by Oshiro, including works by artists Lee Krasner, John Altoon, and Mark Grotjahn. Also, Kaz Oshiro’s Dumpster (Yellow and Blue Swoosh) (2010), a recent gift to LACMA’s collection, is on view in the Charles White Elementary School Gallery for the first time since being acquired in 2012.

“I am excited to share my creative process with the students of Charles White Elementary School,” comments artist Kaz Oshiro. “My hope is that the students and a broader audience will connect to the new collaborative work and have a greater appreciation for art.”

Exhibition co-curator Sarah Jesse, LACMA’s associate vice president of education, remarks, “This project not only provides students with direct access to original works of art, but it also instills firsthand knowledge of the processes by which they were made. Seeing Oshiro demonstrate the capacities of everyday items, such as a broom or squeegee, as implements to make paintings expanded their definition of art and an artist’s tools beyond a paintbrush. The collaborative works in the show made by Oshiro and the students document this creative awakening, offering a glimpse into the limitless possibilities for creating art.”

Co-curator Nancy Meyer, assistant curator of contemporary art, adds, “Kaz Oshiro’s artwork may seem straightforward, but it is rich with ideas. He uses the conventional materials of painting—paint, canvas, and frame—to make sculpture, and he employs the properties of sculpture to making paintings.”

The museum has a longstanding relationship with schools and community organizations throughout Southern California as part of Art Programs with the Community: LACMA On-Site, an ambitious multiyear partnership that has provided art programs and materials to schools, libraries, and community organizations throughout LAUSD since 2006. A variety of education programs provide hands-on activities and discussions about art in classrooms, libraries, and public exhibition spaces throughout the region. Kaz Oshiro: Chasing Ghosts is the sixth LACMA-organized exhibition at Charles White Elementary School, which opened in 2004 on the former campus of Otis College of Art and Design. The school is named after the artist Charles White (1918–1979), who lived in the area and who taught at Otis for many years. Prior exhibitions at the school include Shinique Smith: Firsthand; A is for Zebra; L.A. Icons: Urban Light and Watts Towers (with artists Pato Hebert and Ball-Nogues Studio); Journeys | Recorridos (with artist Marysa Dowling); and SWAP (with artists Mark Bradford and Ruben Ochoa).

Kaz Oshiro was born in 1967 in Okinawa, Japan, and immigrated to the United States in 1986. He completed his bachelor and master of fine arts degrees at California State University, Los Angeles, and has exhibited in the United States and abroad at the Asia Society and Museum (New York), the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles), and the Las Vegas Art Museum, among others. Recent solo exhibitions include Honor Fraser Gallery (Los Angeles), Galerie Frank Elbaz (Paris), and Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin (Hong Kong). Recent group exhibition venues include the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), the Museum of Contemporary Art (San Diego), and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Denver).