The result of several years of research, Miyoko Ito: Heart of Hearts is the first book project dedicated to the life and work of Japanese-American artist Miyoko Ito (1918–1983). While Ito’s paintings have recently been the subject of critically acclaimed exhibitions, her elegant and mysterious artwork was scarcely known beyond Chicago, where she lived and was celebrated during her lifetime. Assembled by Pre-Echo Press and Jordan Stein – organizer of Ito’s first two solo institutional exhibitions in nearly 40 years – Heart of Hearts features well over 100 full-color plates gathered from the artist’s mature period, rare and out of print archival materials, a 1978 interview with the artist, and a 5000-word biographical essay by Jordan Stein that contextualizes Ito’s practice and aims to afford the artist her proper place within a history of postwar American art.
