Escape

This early abstract painting, titled Escape, was created in 1948, shortly after Jerry Okimoto arrived in New York to pursue his art career.

The composition—with its energetic impasto and dramatic tension—resembles steam escaping from a lava vent, evoking both natural force and inner release.

Okimoto was born in Waianae, Hawaii, and later became a founding member of the Metcalf Chateau, a group of seven Asian-American artists based in Honolulu.

A similar painting by Okimoto was featured in the Honolulu Museum of Art’s 2017 exhibition

“Looking East from the Far West”, alongside works by Jackson Pollock, de Kooning, and Robert Motherwell.

His work is held in the collections of the Whitney Museum, HoMA, and the Michelson Museum of Art.

Provenance: East Coast collection, Lee Krasner Madison Ave. Gallery tags. There was a similar painting in the abstract Expressionist show “Looking East from Far West” Honolulu Museum of Arts.

逃逸。杰瑞·冲本（杰克逊·波洛克的妻子）。现代（约1950）。油彩画布。成色良好。

Jerry Okimoto

Jerry Tsukio Okimoto (1924-1998) was a Japanese-American painter and sculptor who was born in Waianae, Hawaii. He is best known for his minimalist works exploring abstract expressionism with geometric forms and three-dimensionality that consist of various combinations of solid colored shapes. Okimoto was also a member of the Metcalf Chateau, a group of seven Asian-American artists with ties to Honolulu. Okimoto’s works have been featured in numerous institutions such as at HoMA (Honolulu Museum of Art), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Michelson Museum of Art at Marshall, Texas.

He was featured in the Honolulu Museum of Art show, Abstract Expressionism

Looking East from the far West in 2017 which featured American great artists such as Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock who were a part of “The Irascibles” along with The Metcalf Chateau group; seven Asian-American Hawaii artists.