“[Aulerich-Sugai] came of age as an artist and a gay man in San Francisco amid the heady days of gay liberation. Although he had maintained an active painting and drawing practice since earning his BA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1975, Aulerich-Sugai entered into an intensely prolific period of creation that began after he was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1987 and lasted until his death in 1994. During this period, he frequently mobilized Japanese iconography and mythology to evoke the battle taking place inside his body while also invoking protection from it.”
This page features the checklist and full details on the series Power in Storage: Samurai Masks and Helmets by Ed Aulerich-Sugai. Please direct any questions to Alla Efimova at alla@thekunstworks.com.
Description
Aulerich-Sugai crafted delicate and enigmatic drawings based on a personal system of symbolic representation. He used chalk on a ground of two-toned, water-based pigments, blending in smooth gradients reminiscent of traditional Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints.
The series draws on the tradition of ornamental men-yoroi and kabuto worn by samurai in feudal Japan, in which decorative elements referred symbolically to animals, mythical creatures, and family crests that represented strength. Similarly, Aulerich-Sugai’s masks and helmets refer to combinations of flora and fauna that embody the internal strength to defend and maintain his vitality.
The jumping wolf spider with its multiplied vision and evolved sense of sight was associated for the artist with his attempts to see within, to better understand his own internal rhythms. The flying fish evade danger by rising above the surface of the water, while fern fronds represent rejuvenation. Yet the use of chalk in forming these images lends a sense of fragility to the otherwise militant headgear.
Recent acquisitions
Aulerich-Sugai’s Meditations series became part of the permanent collection of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in New York.
Aulerich-Sugai’s Ghosts and Demons series joined the permanent collection of the Tacoma Art Museum.
Aulerich-Sugai’s artworks Ghosts and Demons: Diptych (1989) and Cell 28 (1988) are part of the permanent collection of BAMPFA in Berkeley.
Recent press
Forthcoming from frieze, by Robert Glück. Excerpt from About Ed. [Spring 2020]
Berkleyside, by Marcia Tanner. “Breathtaking art show in Berkeley explores death, and life.” March 5, 2020.
Art in America, by Matt Sussman. “Material Witnesses: Art and AIDS at the San Francisco Arts Commission.” June 19, 2019.
KQED, by Sarah Hotchkiss. “'With(out) With(in) the Very Moment' Honors Legacies of AIDS Activism Through Art.” May 9, 2019.
Bay Area Reporter, by Sura Wood. “2019 in Bay Area Art Museums.” December 23, 2019.
Bay Area Reporter, by Sura Wood. “Survival Tactics.” April 23, 2019.
Exhibition history [specifically about Power in Storage: Samurai Masks and Helmets]
In commemoration of World AIDS Day, this series of works was displayed at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in 1991.
More recently, Samurai Helmet #23 and Samurai Mask #3 were shown alongside other works by Aulerich-Sugai at the San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries as part of With(out) With(in) the very moment in 2019.
Recent exhibition history
AFTER/LIFE, GTU Doug Adams Gallery (Berkeley). February 13 – June 11th, 2020.
Precarious Lives, SOMArts (San Francisco). June 6 – 27, 2019.
With(out) With(in) the very moment, SFAC Galleries (San Francisco). April 18 – June 22, 2019.
Way Bay, Berkeley Art Museum (Berkeley). January 17–May 6, 2018.
CHECKLIST
Power in Storage: Samurai Helmets
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #4, 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #7 (Antelope skull), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Framed dimensions: approx. 30.5 x 52.5 inches.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #11 (Giant oak leaves, bat ears, human ear), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Framed dimensions: approx. 30.5 x 52.5 inches.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, study for Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #12 (Crab), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed. Condition note: some of the unfixed chalk has travelled on this piece.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, study for Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #16 (Bat and owl), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet (not numbered) (Bat and owl), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #18 (Flying fish and eel), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #19 (Eels and flying fish), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #20 (Crab), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #21 (Lightning), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #22 (Giant oak leaves and human ear), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Unframed.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #23 (Jumping wolf spider and scorpions), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Framed dimensions: 30.5 x 52.5 inches. Exhibited at SFAC Galleries in 2019.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #25 (Dragonfly and fern fronds), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Framed dimensions: approx. 30.5 x 52.5 inches.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Samurai Helmet #26 (Crab and octopus), 1990. Chalk, mixed media, and water-based pigment on paper. 48 x 26 inches. Framed dimensions: 30.5 x 52.5 inches.
Power in Storage: Samurai Masks
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Mask #1, 1989. Water-based media on paper. 18 x 18 inches.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Mask #2, 1989. Water-based media on paper. 18 x 18 inches.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Mask #3, 1989. Water-based media on paper. 18 x 18 inches. Framed. Exhibited at SFAC Galleries in 2019.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Mask (number unknown), 1989. Water-based media on paper. 18 x 18 inches.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, Power in Storage: Mask (number unknown), 1989. Water-based media on paper. 18 x 18 inches.
Ed Aulerich-Sugai, study for Power in Storage: Mask (number unknown), 1989. Water-based media on paper. 18 x 18 inches.
Studies and Sketches
In addition, there are four sketches from Power in Storage: Samurai Masks and Helmets done in pencil on paper, which are 17 x 14 inches each, as well as seventeen preparatory sketches for the Samurai Helmets done in chalk and pencil on paper, which are approximately 48 x 26 inches each.