Genta Ishizuka, 'Membrane'

G E N TA ISHIZUKA

Untitled, 2017 11 x 7 x 7.5 cm GI-0012

15 Royal Arcade 28 Old Bond Street London, W1S 4SP +44 (0) 20 7491 1706 mail@erskinehallcoe.com www.erskinehallcoe.com

G E N TA ISHIZUKA Membrane 21 Februar y - 22 March 2018

Private View: 20 Februar y, 6-8pm Ar tist Present

Membrane ‘a thin and partially permeable interface whose mirror-like gloss invites the interrogation of perceptions about internal versus external, object versus space, and image versus embodiment’ Asian lacquer is a remarkable material. The variety found in Japan, where it has been used for many thousands of years, is known as urushi. It consists of the sap of the Toxicodendron vernicifluum tree. Tapped, processed and applied to a substrate by brush or spatula in a series of thin layers, urushi hardens when high levels of humidity cause enzymes within it to trigger its polymerization into a kind of natural plastic.

Hardened urushi is glossy, robust and impervious to water, alchohol and other common substances. Its one weakness is vulnerability to light, especially UV light, which causes surface micro-cracking and loss of sheen. This happens much more slowly than light damage to textiles or watercolours, but it needs to be remembered when thinking about displaying and caring for urushi objects.

Working with urushi is a challenging and time-consuming business. Despite this, urushi continues to be used extensively in Japan for making tableware and other domestic objects, and also, as with the sculptural pieces in this exhibition, for creating unique works of art.

In the case of the four pieces from Ishizuka’s Stone Lattice series, he has used smooth pebbles as substrates on to which to apply urushi. The geometric patterns that cover them – executed using pencil leads and thin strips of brass – mimic the structure of computer-generated meshes of their respective shapes. One is effectively looking at beautifully realized conceits of naturally occurring forms overlaid with virtual representations of themselves.

The larger works that make up the major part of the exhibition were all made by the kanshitsu (dry-lacquer) technique. This was initially used in Japan during the seventh and eighth centuries to produce Buddhist sculptures. It is popular today because of the freedom it gives makers to experiment with novel shapes.

Kanshitsu resembles papier-mâché in how a substrate is created by applying successive layers of adhesive-impregnated material over a mould. Kanshitsu differs from papier-mâché in that the material used is hemp cloth rather than paper and the adhesive consists wholely or partly of urushi.

Once the thin but rigid form has been made, it is covered with foundation layers consisting of urushi and fillers of varying degrees of fineness. Hardening followed by polishing with whetstones and charcoal between applications ensures that the surface remains smooth throughout.

The making process is completed with the application of several layers of pure urushi, which can be pigmented or clear. The mottled effect seen on several of the works in the exhibition was achieved by applying layers of differently coloured urushi and polishing partially through them after hardening. Where gold foil has been used, this was applied as a final step using urushi as an adhesive.

The unique quality of Ishizuka’s smoothly undulating shapes comes from the way he manipulates polystyrene spheres of varying diameters inside stretchy 2-way knitted (tricot) nets to create the underlying forms over which he builds his urushiimpregnated hemp substrates. Where did he get the idea for this? The answer is oranges in supermarkets sold in mesh bags.

A point Ishizuka likes to stress about his approach to using the kanshitsu technique is that it is heteronomous, which is to say that he is subject to forces or laws external to himself. In practical terms, this means that rather than setting out with a fixed idea of what he intends to make, he responds dynamically to the movement of the polystyrene spheres in their nets and then, once the substrate has hardened, applies and polishes the foundation and pure urushi layers as if in dialogue with the object evolving in front of him. This way of working is not unique to Ishizuka, but the fact that he actively draws attention to it suggests he sees it as a particularly positive and enjoyable aspect of what he does.

Ishizuka was born in Kyoto in 1982. When at high school, his father, a cabinet maker, took him to see an exhibition of the work of Kuroda Tatsuaki (1904-1982). Kuroda was to the world of modern Japanese urushi what Hamada ShĹ?ji (1894-1978) was to the world of modern Japanese ceramics. Ishizuka’s encounter with Kuroda was a life-changing moment and he went on to study urushi at Kyoto City University of Arts. After completing his BFA in 2006, he spent four months in London, including one term on the Design Products Programme at the Royal College of Art, whose head at that time was Ron Arad. He completed his MFA at Kyoto City University of Arts in 2008 and has been a freelance artist since then.

Rupert Faulkner, 2018 Senior Curator, Asian Department,Victoria and Albert Museum

Surface Tactility #5, 2017 54 x 40 x 40 cm GI-0003

Untitled, 2017 12.2 x 9.6 x 10.5 cm GI-0009

Untitled, 2017 11.8 x 6 x 6 cm GI-0020 Untitled, 2017 8.3 x 5.5 x 5.5 cm GI-0013

Surface Tactility #9, 2017 22 x 14 x 13.2 cm GI-0006

Surface Landscape #2, 2015 46 x 40 x 35 cm GI-0019

Untitled, 2017 10.3 x 8 x 8.2 cm GI-0010 Untitled, 2017 10.3 x 7.5 x 7.5 cm GI-0011

Surface Tactility #7, 2017 63 x 43 x 37 cm GI-0004

Surface Tactility #4, 2017 58.5 x 48 x 50 cm GI-0002

Untitled, 2015 20 x 18 x 18 cm (Wall piece) GI-0018

Surface Tactility #8, 2017 50 x 31 x 33 cm GI-0005

Untitled, 2017 12 x 6.5 x 7 cm GI-0021 Untitled, 2017 7.3 x 4.5 x 4.5 cm GI-0008

Untitled, 2017 26 x 16 x 18 cm GI-0007

Stone Lattice #7, 2016 8.5 x 11.5 x 7 cm (including base) GI-0017

Stone Lattice #2, 2016 13.1 x 24.2 x 14.7 cm (including base) GI-0014

Stone Lattice #3, 2016 16 x 17 x 14 cm (including base) GI-0015

Stone Lattice #5, 2016 8 x 20 x 11 cm (including base) GI-0016

Genta Ishizuka Born in Kyoto in 1982, Ishizuka currently lives and works in Kyoto City. He earned a BFA from Kyoto City University of Arts, during which time he participated in an exchange program at the Royal College of Art, London in 2006. Most recently, he graduated with a MFA in Urushi Lacquering from Kyoto City University of Arts in 2008.

Having established a foundation in the traditional shaping and decorative techniques of the art of urushi, Ishizuka is developing his work from a unique perspective.

Solo Exhibitions 2017 Relative Tactile, Art Space Niji, Kyoto, Japan 2015 Surface Tactility, Art Space Niji, Kyoto, Japan 2013 Gloss Reaction, Art Space Niji, Kyoto, Japan 2011 Drifting Boundaries, ARTCOURT Gallery, Osaka, Japan 2010 Wonderment, Art Space Niji, Kyoto, Japan 2009 Extra Dimension, Art Space Niji, Kyoto, Japan 2007 Sign from the Surface, Art Space Niji, Kyoto, Japan Awards 2015 Selected Artists in Kyoto Celebrating 400 Years of Rimpa, Asahi Shimbun Prize 2014 Selected Artists in Kyoto – The Way of Parasophia, Grand Prix 2006 Kyoto City University of Arts Works Exhibition, Encouragement Prize Public Collections Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, USA Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK Medium & Techniques Urushi refers to the sap drawn from the urushi tree. The sap contains resin, which when exposed to moisture and air, hardens and becomes lacquer.

Kanshitsu is a traditional Japanese method of forming a sculptural figure by using many layers of hemp cloth soaked with lacquer.

Urushi, styrene foam ball, 2 way tricot, Kanshitsu-technique (GI-0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005, 0009, 0010, 0011, 0018, 0019) Urushi, gold leaf, styrene foam ball, 2 way tricot, Kanshitsu-technique (GI-0006, 0007, 0008, 0012, 0013, 0020, 0021) Urushi, stone, brass & wood (GI-0014, 0015, 0016) Urushi, stone, mechanical pencil leads & wood (GI-0017)

The exhibition is fully illustrated online at www.erskinehallcoe.com/exhibitions/genta-ishizuka-2018/ Design by fivefourandahalf. Printed by Witherbys Lithoflow Printing. Photography by Stuart Burford.

We would like to thank ARTCOURT Gallery for their generous help in making this exhibition possible.