|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Modern applied art from Japan On 19 February 2008, at the Menshikov Palace an exhibition of modern Japanese applied art from the 1990s opened. These works were created by the postwar generation whose creative activity developed alongside the nation’s broad international ties. Japan’s openness to the world inspired these artists to seek a new understanding of beauty that was in harmony with national ideals of the tradition of art but also with the concepts and trends of Western culture. The exhibition includes more than 60 works made of ceramics, porcelain, glass, metal, and lacquer representing various tendencies in modern Japanese art and combining innovation and tradition. Some of the represented artists have been awarded the title of Living National Treasure. Among them is Minori Yoshida, a ceramist who has experimented with many styles and techniques of ornamentation, using gold as a decorative element. One of the artist’s best works, can be seen at the exhibition, is a dish with a leafy branch made of gold. Sayoko Eri offers interesting choices drawn from the national tradition in The Spring Wind, where the effect of motion is provided by the colour palette and a cut-gold technique (kirikane), as does Ogyo Ichishima with his lacquer box, The Flash, where he effectively uses traditional spray and inlay methods. In his tea set, The Teapot and Two Cups and Saucers, Yuriko Matsuda refers to folk arts, on the one hand with the shape of the teapot, with its bright, colourful paintings resembling folk wooden and ceramic ware, and on the other with the shape of the cups and saucers, which recalls Western styles. Ceramists pay great attention to the shape of objects. New shapes often appear in combination with traditional ornamentation motifs. Nobuhiko Sueoka’s painting of a small porcelain vessel with a large image of a peony is an example of such a combination. In some works, artists refer us directly to the style that served as their source of inspiration. Ryoji Koie, for example, found inspiration in the oribe style named after Furuta Oribe, a well-known master of tea ceremonies in the 16th century. The traces of this style, though creatively modified by the artist, are seen in the shape and decorative elements of his lidded vessel. Other artists, such as Yuichi Yamamoto who decorated a cup with bright red lines, turn to the bizen style with its characteristic red-brown clay. Ceramists are not alone in their tendency to use traditions from previous eras, which is well seen from Arihiko Natsume’s flower-shaped lacquer negoro tray (the name negoro was given to works created by the artists of the sacred complex of Negoro between the 12th and 13th century, covered with red lacquer and often applying black lacquer underneath) and Kaoru Uchino’s poetry card box, The Heavy Rain. Poetry cards were used to play the game known as One Hundred Poems for One Hundred Poets. Traditional lacquers are used in Yasuko Okamura’s leaf-pattern box, although the colour options and the treatment of the leaves are different. Artists seek to express their idea of beauty by using new techniques in processing materials. Yataro Amemiya does this with his stone vase, The End of Time, which, despite being relatively small, strikes with its monumentality and powerfulness, as does Masayuki Hashimoto in the originally composed The Sunlight through Leaves. Some artists tend to consciously simplify the shape (Ryo Mikami’s The Hollowed-out Jar) whereas others provide it with unusual lines that make it sometimes difficult to identify the functionality of an object (Kazuhiko Sato’s jar). Glass articles such as The Boundary of Glass by Yoshinori Masuda and The Sprouts by Jun Fujita are also of interest, especially as glass is not a traditional material used in Japan, and is a European influence that appeared on the Kyushu Island only in the 17th century. Tatiana Arapova, the leading researcher at the Hermitage Oriental Department, curated the exhibition. |
|
|||||
|
Copyright © 2011 State Hermitage Museum |
