Bio

Yuko Otomo (b. 1950, Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan) is a Japanese-born writer who creates primarily in English, producing an eclectic body of work that focuses on the phenomenology of art rather than its history. Her writing captures moments of artistic experience, such as the play of light on a museum canvas, a found poem en route to a Bruce Nauman retrospective, or her own sense of transience in an English-speaking world. Otomo’s unique perspective allows her to explore art as it is lived, not merely studied. Her work resists categorization, embracing subjectivity with humility and exploring the delicate boundary between language and the visual. Whether responding to artists like Michelangelo or Duchamp, her poetry retains a distinct voice. Otomo’s most recent collection, STUDY & Other Poems on Art (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2013), compiles her art-related writings from the 1980s to the present. In addition to poetry, her abstract visual work has been displayed at venues such as Tribes Gallery, Anthology Film Archives, and the Vision Festival. Known primarily as a poet, Otomo is equally dedicated to visual art, criticism, and translation, revealing an unbounded creative spirit.

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