Yuki Murata

Core Samples

June 17–August 8
Artist Reception: Saturday, July 11, 6–8pm

A mannequin dressed in an elaborate white costume with a feathery dress, white gloves, a fur headpiece adorned with hanging ornaments, and wooden arms, standing on a light wooden floor against a plain wall.

A window with frosted glass and horizontal white blinds partially open, letting in diffused light. The frosted glass shows faint, blurry patterns and tree branches outside.

Abstract artwork featuring alternating horizontal stripes in beige and off-white tones. The beige stripes have a textured, dripping effect, creating a sense of movement within the otherwise regular pattern.

Abstract painting featuring sweeping metallic gold and gray arcs, with paint drips and textured streaks creating a layered, modern effect on a neutral background.

An abstract artwork featuring alternating horizontal stripes in pale blue and beige with white paint drips and splatters cascading downward, creating a textured, layered effect across the surface.

A close-up of a textured surface with horizontal stripes in varying shades of brown and beige, featuring vertical streaks resembling water drips or weathered wood grain.

A textured surface featuring alternating horizontal brown and white stripes, with visible streaks and smudges creating an abstract, weathered appearance.

A spacious, modern art gallery with light wood floors, white walls displaying framed artworks, two blue armchairs, and a wooden table with magazines in the foreground. Track lighting illuminates the space.

A modern art gallery with light wooden floors and white walls displays abstract, textured paintings. Natural light streams in from large windows, and a person in white stands near the entrance in the background.

A white, ethereal sculpture with a flowing gown, gloved hands, and ornate headpiece stands in a bright gallery space with light wood floors and white walls, near two framed abstract artworks.

A minimalist art gallery wall featuring a striped abstract painting on the left and the text "Yuki Murata Core Samples" on the right, both displayed on a clean, white background with a light wooden floor.

A minimalist art gallery features a square, neutral-toned abstract painting with horizontal textured lines, centered on a plain white wall above a light wooden floor.

A large, abstract painting with wavy, horizontal gray and white lines hangs on a plain white wall in a well-lit, minimalist gallery space with a light wooden floor.

A white gallery wall displays two abstract paintings with horizontal stripes; the left artwork is smaller and duller, while the right one is larger with darker, bolder stripes. The floor is light wood.

A square abstract painting featuring alternating horizontal brown and white stripes, with streaks and drips of white paint running vertically across the surface.

A bright, modern art gallery with light wood floors, white walls, and abstract artwork displayed; large windows at the far end let in natural light, and blue seating is arranged near the entrance.

Exhibition Catalog

Press Release

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Richard Levy Gallery is pleased to present Core Samples, a selection of earth pigment paintings on panel by Yuki Murata. Murata (Santa Fe, NM) creates pigment from soil, and applies these to canvas with overlays of gestural marks and horizontal stripes. The result is work that holds both the rawness of the natural world and the ordering impulse of human civilization, while also paying homage to the vast horizon lines of the New Mexico landscape and referencing her architectural roots. Murata gathers soil pigments during residencies chosen for their ecological ethos and stark, contrasting climates, such as those in Iceland and Nevada. By dragging her canvases across terrain and embedding earth into the surface, she implicates herself and the viewer as participants in a shared, and increasingly fragile, environment.

Murata also debuts a sculpture that reimagines Yuki Onna, the snow woman of Japanese mythology, as a protective figure watching over migrants and immigrants, specifically related to Dept of Homeland Security and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). Murata received her Master of Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design and her BA in Architecture from Yale University.

Exhibition Dates: June 17–August 8, 2026
Reception: Saturday, July, 11: 6–8 pm
Gallery Hours: Wednesday–Saturday, 11 am–4 pm or by appointment
Location: 514 Central Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Contact: 505.766.9888, info@levygallery.com, www.levygallery.com @levygallery

Artwork and Information
Yuki Murata