Nagakura Kenichi (2016)

NAGAKURAKENICHI

NAGAKURA CATALOG 2016 Draft 2_Layout 1 5/18/16 5:06 PM Page 1


Early Autumn, 2016, 26 × 15 × 8inches

ARTIST STATEMENT

For me, bamboo is what pigment is for a painter or stone is for a sculptor. Discoveringtheir true medium is a profound pleasure for an artist. When the sensitivities of bothartist and the material are in synch, the medium becomes the voice, flesh, and heartof the artist.

Working with bamboo, I become both author and audience. The resulting creationstands between two worlds – visible and invisible. I hope that it resonates with aneternal spirit and stirs the soul.

My relationship with bamboo will continue throughout my life.

Sometimes like a ridge of sand Sometimes like water running over the surface of a rock Sometimes scenes of swirling winds Sometimes a piece of fallen leaf, quietly lying on the ground

For me, inspiration comes from the workings of nature, both large and small, near anddistant. My desire is to share with other human beings the silent voice of nature.

n Nagakura Kenichi, 2016

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Above:Veil, 2016, 19 ×12 × 5.5 inches

Right:Wander, 2016, 33 ×15.5 ×10.5 inches


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A Scrap of Paper, 2016,10 × 33 ×10 inches


Above:Overflowing, 2016, 10.5 × 22 × 18 inches

Right:Crag, 2016, 11× 9.5 × 9 inches

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Cluster, 201619 × 6.5 × 5.5 inches

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Chapter, 201626 × 9.5 × 4.5 inches


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Ring of Water, 201633 ×35 × 14 inches


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Broken Fan, 2016, 12.25 ×26.5 ×16 inches

Upon the Wind, 2016, 9.5 ×35.5 × 5 inches


Rising Peak, 201643 × 36 × 8.5 inches


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Above: Basin, 2016, 13 × 22 × 8 inches

Right: Harmony, 2016, 13 × 14.5 × 7inches

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Above:Calyx, 2016, 10 × 8.5 × 3.5 inches

Right:Sky Being:Wind, 2016, 14.5 ×15.25 × 9.5 inches


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Left: Folded Wings, 2016, 14 × 23 × 9 inches

Below: Scroll Box, 2016, 12.5 × 23 ×10 inches


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1947 Born in Tokyo, Japan1972 Graduated from Waseda University1976 Graduated from Oita Prefectural Bamboo Craft and Training Support Center1979 Admitted to 19th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition for the first time (thereafter every year)

1980 Admitted to 27th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition for the first time (thereafter many times)

1984 Winner of Tokyo Educational Committee Award at 24th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition1985 Judge at 25th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition1988 Judge at 28th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition1989 Winner of Mitsukoshi Department Store Award at 29th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Solo Exhibition at MOA Gallery, Nagoya1990 Winner of Tokyo Educational Committee Award at 4th Japan Traditional Craft Arts, Wood and Bamboo Exhibition Winner of Japan Craft Arts Association Chairman’s Award at 37th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Appeared on the NHK television program Sunday Art Museum1992 Judge at 5th Japan Traditional Craft Arts,Wood and Bamboo Exhibition1994 Winner of Japan Craft Art Association Award at 6th Japan Traditional Craft Arts,Wood and Bamboo Exhibition1996 Judge at 36th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition1997 Judge at 38th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Judge at 8th Japan Traditional Craft Arts,Wood and Bamboo Exhibition Judge at 45th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Solo Exhibition at Yu Gallery, Akasaka,Tokyo2002 The Next Generation, University of Arkansas, Little Rock2003 The Classic Japanese Basket, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

2004 Winner of Prince Takamatsu Award at 51st Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition (The winning piece was purchased by the Agency of Imperial Household)

Exhibited at The Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond,Virginia 2005 Judge at 45th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition

Right: Lotus Flower, 2015, 28.75 ×12.25 × 12.25 inches

Covers, pages 4 -–5: Arrow Pattern Line Construction Tray. Photo credit:

Fruit Basket with Wood Handle, 2016, 11.5 × 22.5 ×18 inches



NAGAKURA KENICHIB.1952, Shizuoka City, Japan

“For me it is very important to use parts of a bamboo plant from above ground andparts from below ground,” Nagakura says. “I like to add bamboo roots to some of mywork as a reminder of the dark side of life.”

Unaffiliated with any of Japan’s craft arts organizations, Nagakura is the first recipient ofthe Cotsen Bamboo Prize, awarded in 2000, and an esteemed independent artist for morethan 30 years.

His organic artworks are rooted in the functional baskets made for centuries for flowerarranging at Japanese tea ceremonies but also borrow from wide-ranging sources, includ-ing European sculpture, the American pop art movement, indigenous Japanese forms, andcord-patterned clay work from the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. His fine plaiting mimics com-plex line drawing and the graceful shapes of his vessels are inspired by human form andby objects from the natural world, such as fallen leaves, emerging shoots, and cocoons.

Nagakura began his career dyeing fabric for kimonos but quickly realized he wantedto make artwork. He spent three years splitting bamboo for his grandfather, who was abamboo craftsman. Several years later he brought his work to a contemporary gallery thatgave him a solo show. He is passionate about jazz, classical, and rock music, and strivesto elicit the “rhythm and harmony” of bamboo.

Nagakura has exhibited internationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Japan,France, Belgium and the United States, including eight solo shows at TAI Gallery. His workhas been exhibited at institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY;Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco,CA; Museum of Artand Design, New York; New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM; Asia Society, NewYork; Chicago Cultural Center, IL; Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture, Hanford, CA;Denver Botanic Gardens, CO; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca,NY; Ishigami-no-Oka Open Air Museum, Iwate, Japan; Kansas City Jewish Museum,Overland Park; and the Japan Society, New York, NY.

Museum Collections Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CaliforniaMinneapolis Institute of Arts, MinnesotaMint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, North CarolinaHerbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University

Left: Bridge Spanning Mountains, 2016, 17×19 × 12 inches

Back Cover: Floating Away, 2016, 40.5 × 9 × 5 inches

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Nagakura Kenichi (2016)