"My work focuses on balance and dilemma caught between human society with all mechanical development and human as a part of nature. I often use disposable items and trash with traditional materials and techniques to express today’s human society. Technology must coexist with our only land, earth, since we will never go back to ancient life style. I am not blaming anyone, but I rather present the facts and problems for awareness."
Miyuki
ARTIST PROFILE
Miyuki Akai Cook was born and raised in Japan. She has always enjoyed creativities since she can remember, such as drawing, painting, and paper cutting, then her mother introduced sewing, knitting, crocheting. It was very natural for Miyuki to pursue art as her career. She attended Seian Woman’s college in Kyoto for a year to study textile, which was the first experience she dyed fabric. She earned BFA in Interior Design from Osaka University of Arts in Japan.
In 2000 Miyuki took a journey to the U.S. to explore a different culture. She re-discovered an interest in textile while she was studying at University of North Texas. In 2006 she received MFA in Fiber/ Artisanry from University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth. She has been passionate for education and currently teaching at Marshall University, WV.
Her visual inspiration and aesthetic are often from Japanese heritage. She calls herself a “maker” because her curious and adventurous personality let her to use various techniques and materials for different purposes. As a mother and educator, she concerns about young generation. In her artwork she express our coexistence and dilemma caught between human society and nature’s gift of life.
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
EDUCATION
2003-2006
MFA in Artisanry- Fibers, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth,
N. Dartmouth, MA
2002-2003
Fibers Program, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
1993-1997
BFA in Interior Design Major, Osaka University of Arts, Osaka, Japan
1992-1993
Textile Major, Seian College of Art and Design, Kyoto, Japan
TEACHING
2014 - present
Associate Professor of Fibers, Marshall University
Huntington, WV
2009 - 2014
Assistant Professor of Fibers, Marshall University
2007. 2009
Adjunct Faculty, Mount Ida College, Newton, MA
EXHIBITIONS
SOLO
2014 Laundry Field, Gallery MARONIE, Kyoto, Japan
Miyuki Akai Cook, University of Ohio Southern, Ironton, OH
2013 Looking Close, Rogue Community College, Grants Pass, OR
2007 When You Know Your Capability, Artworks! New Bedford, MA
2005 Overwhelmed, UMass Dartmouth, N. Dartmouth, MA
INVITATIONAL
2023 MU Faculty show: Making Place, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
2022 Juliet Art Museum Invitational, Clay Center, Charleston, WV
2021 Adaptations: Marshall University Faculty Exhibit, Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV
Welcome Home: The Liminal Asian-Appalachian Experience, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
2020 In Flux, SEFEA traveling exhibition, East Tennessee State University – Marshall University – Brea University – James Madison University
2019 Revisiting Series Project, sponsored by Urban Art Commission, Memphis, TN
2018 Solastalgia, the Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, MA
Art Voice WV, Morgan Arts Council, Berkeley Springs, WV
2017 New Conversations, Southeastern Community College, Whiteville, NC
2016 Textile Talent: New York Textile Month, Governors Island, New York, NY
Faculty Exhibition Marshall University, Huntington, WV
2015 Eclectia, Apartment Earth, Charleston, WV
Story to Tell, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
2014 Holding the Line, University Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA
Continuing Conversations, Barton College, Wilson NC
2013 Mother Load Project, contributor, curated by Natalie Macellaio & Lesli Robertson
The Art of Teaching Art: Marshall University Faculty Art Show, The Huntington Museum of Art,
Huntington, WV
2012 Gallery Divided: A Head-to-Head Matchup Between Marshall & WVU Art Faculty,
Clay Center, Charleston, WV
Faculty Exhibit, Gallery 842, Huntington, WV
2011 Fabulous Fibers IV, Arts West Gallery, Elon University, Elon, NC
Expressive Cloth, Birke Art Gallery, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
2010 Faculty Exhibit, Gallery 842, Huntington, WV
2009 New Faculty Exhibit, Birke Art Gallery, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
Light, Gallery 842, Huntington, WV
2008 Why I Teach, Artworks! New Bedford, MA
2007 Faculty Exhibition. Mount Ida College, Newton, MA
Ikimasho! : Japanese Textile Exhibition. UMass Dartmouth, N. Dartmouth, MA
The MFA Thesis Exhibition, UMass Dartmouth, N. Dartmouth, MA
2005 Domestic Materials in Contemporary Fiberart, UMass Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA
Creating a Home, UMass Dartmouth, N. Dartmouth, MA
New Bedford Community Event AHA! Night, New Bedford, MA
2004 The Great Swap Show, UMass Dartmouth, N. Dartmouth, MA
New Bedford Community Event AHA! Night, New Bedford, MA
2003 The Great Swap Show, UMass Dartmouth, N. Dartmouth, MA
1997 The BFA Exhibition, Osaka University of Art, Osaka, Japan
JURIED
2023 Global Talent Art Prize 3rd Edition, Global Talent Art Prize, London, United Kingdom
First Annual Animal Artivism International Juried Art Exhibition, Wild Heart Gallery,
Coachella Valley, CA
2018 Brickscape Art Residency, Charleston, WV
Textile Landscapes, Sulfur Studio, Savannah, GA
2014 Art We Use, The Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, OH
69th Allied Artists of WV Juried Exhibition, Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV
Fantastic Fibers 2014, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
2013 2013 West Virginia Juried Exhibition, The Division of Culture and History, WV
Disconnect, The Target Gallery, The Torpedo Factory Art enter, Alexandria, VA
OH+5, The Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, OH
National Juried Art Show 2013, Highlands Museum, Ashland, KY
2012 Fantastic Fibers 2012, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY
Refuse/re-seen, Some Things Looming, Reading, PA
Fiber Options: Material Explorations, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD
25: Target Gallery Celebrates Twenty-Five Years, The Torpedo Factory Art center, Alexandria, VA
Tri-State Arts Association Juried Exhibition 2012, Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV
2011 The Art of Fiber, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
National Fiber Directions Exhibition 2011, The Wichita Center for The Arts, Wichita, KS
2010 System Failure, The Target Gallery, The Torpedo Factory Art enter, Alexandria, VA
Tri-State Arts Association Juried Exhibition 2010, The Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV
2008 Surface: Layered, Coconino Community College, Flagstaff, AZ
2006 SOFA Chicago, Mobilia Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003 Weave, Student Competition, International Surface Design Conference, Kansas City, KS
International Student Art Exhibit, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
2002 Annual Voertman Student Competition, University of North Texas, Denton, TX