About the Artist
Bio
Yoshiko Ratliff is a DC-Metro area-based painter and award-winning ceramicist. She was born and raised in Japan and uses her artwork to show the beauty and authenticity of the culture and her heritage. Her works rely on abstract organic underpainting with shapes and shades forming integral elements of the finished pieces.
She is a Member Artist at Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC and has exhibited her work at the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities I Street Gallery, the Athenaeum Gallery, the Touchstone Gallery, the Mansion at the Strathmore, the CCACC Art Gallery, three times at the Creative Crafts Council Biennial Exhibition, Glenview Mansion and other galleries nationwide as well. She had two designs and ten stormwater covers installed for the City of Alexandria Old Town North Stormwater Cover Design Project. Her work is found in US and international private and corporate collections and in the 2022 and 2025 DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities permanent collection (acquired through the Art Bank program). She has received many awards and has been featured in publications and radio interviews.
Resume
Awards/Honors
FY25 DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES, ART BANK GRANT.
Finalist - DC ART NOW 2024, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities I Street Gallery Exhibition, Washington DC. September 27 – December 13, 2024
FY22 DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES, ART BANK GRANT.
Finalist - DC ART NOW 2021, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities I Street Gallery Exhibition, Washington DC. October 11 – December 10, 2021.
Selected for OLD TOWN NORTH STORMWATER COVER DESIGN PROJECT, the City of Alexandria, May, 2021.
FY21 EMERGENCY RELIEF AND RECOVERY GRANT. ARTSFAIRFAX, September, 2020.
MONTGOMERY POTTERS AWARD. Creative Crafts Council, 31st Biennial Exhibition. April – May, 2017.
MONTGOMERY POTTERS AWARD. Creative Crafts Council, 30th Biennial Exhibition. June – August, 2015.
1ST PLACE. Kiln Club Annual Show. Scope Gallery, Torpedo Factory. Nick Joerling, Juror. April, 2010.
STRAUSS FELLOWSHIP. Arts Council of Fairfax County. June, 2008.
1ST PLACE CLAY. Creative Crafts Council, 26th Biennial Exhibition. The James Renwick Alliance, Jurors. May – July, 2007.
MONTGOMERY POTTERS AWARD. Creative Crafts Council, 26th Biennial Exhibition. May – July, 2007.
JUROR’S CHOICE. Scope Gallery, Torpedo Factory. Malcolm Davis, Juror. April, 2011.
JUROR’S CHOICE. Scope Gallery, Torpedo Factory. Blair Meerfeld, Juror. June, 2010.
JUROR’S CHOICE. Scope Gallery, Torpedo Factory. John Jessiman, Juror. March, 2007.
Solo / Featured Exhibitions
2024
JAPANESE INSPIRATION (3-person exhibition), concurrent with the Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival, The Athenaeum Gallery, Alexandria, VA. April 4 – May 12, 2024.
2023
2 designs /10 stormwater covers installed for OLD TOWN NORTH STORMWATER COVER DESIGN PROJECT, the City of Alexandria, October, 2023.
2022
INVITATIONAL SOLO EXHIBITION, Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, CCACC Art Gallery, Gaithersburg, MD. May, 2022.
2017
FEATURED ARTIST, Cooley Gallery, Leesburg, VA. October, 2017.
2013
FEATURED ARTIST, Cooley Gallery, Leesburg, VA. November, 2013.
Juried Group Exhibitions
2024
ALTERED STATES, Arlington Artists Alliance Gallery, Arlington, VA. Rosemary Feit Covey, Juror. October 17 – November 24, 2024.
THE BEAUTY OF DIVERSITY, Falls Church Arts, Falls Church, VA. Anthony Nsofor, Juror. October 5 – November 17, 2024.
DC ART NOW 2024, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities I Street Gallery Exhibition, Washington DC. September 27 – December 13, 2024.
2023
31st ANNUAL STRATHMORE JURIED EXHIBITION: PLAY, The Mansion at Strathmore, Bethesda, MD. March 21, 2023 – April 29, 2023.
2022
TORPEDO FACTORY ART CENTER ON THE ROAD, Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, VA. October 21, 2022 – February 12, 2023.
2021
DC ART NOW 2021, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities I Street Gallery Exhibition, Washington DC. October 11 – December 10, 2021.
AAPI HERITAGE MONTH VIRTUAL EXHIBITION, CCACC Art Gallery. May, 2021.
VIRTUAL SPOTLIGHT GROUP EXHIBITION and Instagram Artist Talk, Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC. December, 2020 – February, 2021.
INSTAGRAM ARTIST LIVE TALK, Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC. January, 2021.
2020
MAPPING THE WORLD, Exhibition and Artist Talk. The Cathay Future Center, Rockville, MD. February 15 – March 15, 2020.
GREEN, Torpedo Factory Artists @ Mosaic, Fairfax, VA. February 19 – April 29, 2020. Cancelled because of COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
HIP HOLIDAY, Tryst Gallery, 312 E. Market St., Leesburg, VA. November 1, 2019 – January 9, 2020.
VOYAGES, Torpedo Factory Artists @ Mosaic, Fairfax, VA. December 27, 2019 – January 27, 2020.
SMALL PAINTINGS IN VENICE, in conjunction with VENICE BIENNALE, Venice, Italy, October, 2019.
2018
AROUND, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Gallery 311, Alexandria, VA. July 14 – August 19, 2018.
UNCOMMON VISIONS, Torpedo Factory Artists @ Mosaic, Fairfax, VA. January 24 – March 11, 2018.
CAMERAS & CLAY, Torpedo Factory Artists @ Mosaic, Fairfax, VA. December 13 – January 21, 2018.
2017
PROLEGOMENA, Torpedo Factory Artists @ Mosaic, Fairfax, VA. November 4 – December 10, 2017.
CREATIVE CRAFTS COUNCIL, 31st BIENNIAL EXHIBITION, The Mansion at Strathmore, Bethesda, MD. Maurine Littleton, Rebecca Stevens, Matthew Hyleck, Jurors. April – May, 2017.
2015
CREATIVE CRAFTS COUNCIL, 30st BIENNIAL EXHIBITION, The Mansion at Strathmore, Bethesda, MD. Nora Atkinson, Frederick L. Wall, Shana Kroiz, Jurors. June- August, 2015.
2011
FROZEN IN FIRE – CRYSTALLINE WAVES, International Exhibition, Dunedin, FL. John Tilton, Ginny Conrow, Diane Crever, Jurors. April, 2011.
2009
GLENVIEW MANSION ART GALLERY, Rockville, MD. November, 2009.
2008
INFUSION 10 x 10, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO. Fong Choo, Juror. May – June, 2008.
2007
CREATIVE CRAFTS COUNCIL, 26st BIENNIAL EXHIBITION, The Mansion at Strathmore, Bethesda, MD. The James Renwick Alliance, Jurors. May – July, 2007.
100 TEAPOTS III, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD. Julia Galloway, Juror. January – February, 2007.
Publications
ELAN MAGAZINE. September, 2021.
INTERVIEW, ALL BUSINESS MEDIA FM-PROFESSIONALS ROUNDTABLE. January 17, 2018.
SURFACE DESIGN FOR CERAMICS, Lark Books, Pub., Maureen Mills, Author/Juror. 2008.
Affiliations
Member Artist, TOUCHSTONE GALLERY, Washington DC. November, 2024 -- Present
Member, National Organization for Arts in Health. September, 2024 – Present
Member, Falls Church Arts, Falls Church, VA. September, 2024 -- Present
Committee member, Torpedo Factory Artists @ Mosaic, Fairfax, VA. May, 2019 – 2022
Juried Member, Torpedo Factory Artists’ Association, Alexandria, VA. March, 2013 – Present
Juried Member, Scope Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA. September, 2004 – Present
Member Artist, The Lee Arts Center, Arlington, VA. June, 2007 – August, 2016
Juried Member, Kiln Club of The Washington DC Area. September, 2004 – Present