Cooperstown NY—In honor of Ichiro Suzuki, the first Japanese ballplayer to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Art Garage offers the fun exhibition,  Samurai Baseball: a fine-arts-look-at-baseball, through September 13. The show presents a rich array of highly original works by 15  artists, several veterans of the storied fine-arts-look-at–baseball shows on Pioneer and Main Street and even some ‘inductees’ of the internationally touring exhibition, Diamonds are Forever: Artists and Writers on Baseball (late 1980s!). The exhibition is on view Saturdays through Sept 13. 11am-3pm (August 16, 23, 30, September 6 and 13) The exhibition features a stunning ‘quilt’ of 14  limited edition Japanese-woodcut and samurai-inspired art posters, complete with on-message Japanese lettering by Robert Seward, who lived in Japan for many years. There he taught at Meiji Gakuin University and championed the work of an American authority on Japanese baseball – Robert Whiting, author of The Samurai Way of Baseball, whom he frequently invited to lecture at the university. Whiting’s thesis is that Japanese baseball is deeply intertwined with Japanese culture and societal values, making it distinct from the more individualistic and power-oriented style prevalent in the U. S. Per Seward, “In Whiting’s telling, there is a strong connection to the samurai spirit (bushidō/武士道) or the way of the warrior and represents the code of conduct and principles followed by the samurai during feudal Japan.” Other artists/artworks in the show: Marcie Schwartzman, a bead-embellished textile banner with a stitched image of Suzuki and his signature upheld bat, hidden in plain sight; David Wilson, a baseball impaled on a samurai sword (katana); and a repurposed samurai action figure atop a found baseball/monument embossed with key samurai tenets;  Ada Yonenaka (Chelsea/Bowerstown), works on paper with highly original and lively configurations of delightful imagery repeated in extraordinary patterns;  Steph Marcus, 14 one-of-a-kind baseball cards made with sculpted modeling clay on board, featuring hall of famers…as cats!;  Charlie Bremer (Otego NY), mesmerizing  photorealist paintings where impossibly-luminous vintage bottles unexpectedly reveal startling baseball imagery; Cooperstown’s Ashley Norwood Cooper, a wild and enigmatic painting that will wow her many admirers; Carey Clark (NYC), a dreamy painting from her renown 1980s NYC subway series; the legendary farmer artist Lavern Kelley (Oneonta NY, d. 1998), several carved, hapless ‘Tinkerville Tomcat’ players; James Herman (Hartwick NY), two powerful paintings that comment on homeplate; Chuck Matteson (Cherry Valley NY) , a six-foot bat obelisk, a smaller curved bat for curve balls and an ‘American icons’ bronze of a cowboy and baseball ; Marilynn Gelfman Karp (NYC /Charlotteville), ‘ornithology’ and ‘archeology’ assemblages, such as a delicate nest reinforced with bird-retrieved baseball memorabilia; Mary Padgett (New Woodstock, NY), colorful pastel paintings of textiles that seamlessly and gloriously sport baseballs; and Jim Sullivan of NYC and Jefferson NY, a muted painting of a soulful dog and a baseball, called Woof. In the photography department, Katharine Kreisher, with her winning Playing on the Girls Team, a charming partially-hand-colored photograph of a gal in long dress batting a hydrangea out of the field, and Dennis Stahl, whose inscrutable black and white image of a bearded man holding out a baseball both generate more questions than answers. And yes, the art is for sale, just look for the Checklist of the Exhibition. Ask to see Wilson s video clips of astounding sword-brandishing “samurai baseball” incidents to further enliven (and mystify) the visit, in the pop-uip baseball art shop. The exhibition is open Saturdays, 11am-3pm and every day with an appointment: text/call 315-941-9607 or email leartgarage@gmail.com In addition to the pop-up shop ion the MG bay, see the small grab-and -go section at the rear of the main gallery: that features Ada Yonenaka’s one-of-a-kind stamped artwork as notecards, and a limited number of Diamonds are Forever: Artists and Writers on Baseball, autographed by its visual arts co-curator, Sydney Waller, also curator of this year’s Samurai Baseball show. Free public programs include a Robert Seward talk Aug. 14; two artists-in-residence-for-a day demonstrations – Steph Marcus Aug. 16, 1-3pm,  and Marcie Schwartzman Aug 23, 11-12:30, and two lively artists panel discussions: Playing on the Girls Team, Aug. 28, 5PM, moderated by Sarah Simpson, and Playing Hard Ball, Wed. Sept. 3, 5PM, moderated by Gary Bower, Charlotteville, NY. Visitors will be able to see posters documenting the history of Cooperstown’s fine-arts-look-at-baseball exhibitions—Bases Loaded, Line Drives, Umpires of Art and so many others–  which have been on hiatus. For Images and info please refer to FB/Instagram @ArtGarageCooperstown, email leartgarage@gmail.com , text/call 315-941-9607,  or call 607-547-5327 during gallery hours (Saturdays 11-3)###