Artist Statement
Just saying.
about ROKOKO...
2023
Rokoko was established in 1983 as a business to house the artistic collaboration and creations of A.me and Mitch Alamag. The name “rokoko” comes from “kokoro” a Japanese word which means “of the heart” and from “rococo” a period of art during the mid 18th century.
The Rococo style was ornate and whimsical, and was A.me’s least favorite period of art history. She felt by using the name Rokoko, it would act as a metaphor to learn how to make peace with art as business that she struggled with at the time. Rokoko has been a school for her to let go of judgement and bridge the gap between art for oneself and art to be part of the world. Rokoko acted as a shared identity for both A.me and Mitch. It freed them to work in union for this shared ideal. Through the years, they learned to turn their friction into a fusion based on their differences. The push and pull between them has provided new avenues to their works. They are true opposites craving different needs from their expression.
A.me’s need is to give a voice to her inner world. She lives in a bubble surrounded by color and light contemplating the inner workings of her soul and this universe. She explores by traveling into the void allowing the unconscious mind, to extract images, patterns, forms and messages revealing a road map to the world at large.
Mitch’s art evolves from the need to express his inner nature through structure and pattern. His use of color, shape and repetition create unique rhythms that resonate in physical form.
After years of working collectively as "Rokoko", A.me (born Amy Linn Alter) and Mitch (born Mitchell Allen Gantz) changed their surname to "Alamag", a combination of their individual initials (A.L.A and M.A.G.).
They believe the viewer further invigorates the work to another level. Through their eyes, filters and knowledge the art is born again. This energy keeps the work always fertile and alive.
Currently they create works on wood and some found objects. They carve, rout, glue, assemble, texture and paint in acrylic, paste and varnishes. Each art piece starts on a black surface with colors added to give light to the dark spaces in life. It’s in the void of not knowing that their path is revealed. Their work is play, and their play is work. Their art is life and their life is art.
They operated their own gallery in Venice Beach CA. from 1990-1994 and in Mesilla, NM. from 2010-2020. Their one constant is that they keep their focus on the process and embracing the moment. They just simply believe if they stay close to their hearts, they are in the right place and giving something true.