SHUMEI KOBAYASHI THREADS OF SIGNIFICANCE
LESLEY KEHOE GALLERIES
小 林 秀 明
LESLEY KEHOE GALLERIES TUESDAY ~ FRIDAY 11AM – 5PM GROUND FLOOR 101 COLLINS ST OTHER TIMES BY APPOINTMENT
小 林 秀 明
b. 1950 Osaka Japan
SHUMEI KOBAYASHI
03 AUG 2016 – 02 SEPT 2016 THREADS OF SIGNIFICANCE
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SHUMEI KOBAYASHI
Put the resist paste in the tube; feel it squeeze through my hands as I transfer the design from concept to reality; cover the woven cloth with nori resist and using a variety of specially selected brushes, start to add the colours. My imagination flows with the dyes. Next, borrow the elemental powers of water, fire, air and time to settle the colours; use nori again to cover the design, and brush in the background; fix the background colour once again through the grace of fire and water, air and time; with a final rinsing, there are the lines of my design, the clarity of the background...and the manifestation of my creative soul...so then, today, tomorrow, what fabric, what design? SHUMEI KOBAYASHI
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THREADS OF SIGNIFICANCE SHUMEI KOBAYASHI TSUTSUGAKI AND YŪZEN
“Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.” Richard Feynman (1918-1988) Theoretical Physicist
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That Nature should be the connecting thread between a practising Buddhist Shugendō shaman, ‘moonlighting’ as a tsutsugaki artist, and a theoretical physicist is not at all strange. Buddhist Shumei Kobayashi speaks of primitive religions such as Japan’s mountain-centered animism and laments their fading relevance in today’s fast-paced world. He shares his earliest recollections, as a ‘young lamb’ in the midst of six old practitioners of the Shugendō sect, of the unrelenting day and night ritualistic training required in pursuit of an understanding of the universe - the very same goal as theoretical physics - different threads of the same tapestry.
The interweaving threads that are characteristic of Shumei’s foundation canvases are metaphors for the serendipitous life threads that see the artist creating significant networks in Australia. From his first government-sponsored exhibition at the Japan Foundation in Sydney in 1996, these networks, many introduced and nurtured by Lesley Kehoe Galleries and its clients, have successfully created a dynamic that sees Shumei now as the recipient of a special artist’s visa for permanent residency in Australia. He is keen to preserve and revivify the tradition of tsutsugaki through teaching it to young people in Australia. He sees opportunities in Australia’s progressive fashion industry for the creation of unique fabrics.
In 2011 the threads and pathways of life’s patterns brought contemporary textile artist Shumei Kobayashi to Lesley Kehoe Galleries for his first solo exhibition with our gallery. The title of that exhibition, ‘Weaving the Future’ was portentous, as Shumei is now a regular and successful exhibitor with the Galleries.
Currently establishing a studio in the environs of the renowned Curly Flat vineyard, the artist is developing natural pigments from native materials, a shibui coffee hue on silk from Curly Flat’s pinot vines and an evolving grey/brown from eucalyptus. A new art name has been created for these Australian works – cloud white: (shiroi kumo 白雲). This reflects the initials of
SHUMEI KOBAYASHI
his name Shumei Kobayashi, as well as paying tribute to the inspiring skyscapes of the Lancefield area. The artist’s life-long practice as a Shugendō Buddhist shaman and its respect for, and communion with, nature and the spiritual world informs all his work. His original and contemporary interpretations of these elements speak both to the ageless universal and to the current zeitgeist. Our role as a gallery is that of a connoisseur gathering threads and creating tapestries for others to enjoy, a creative activity beautifully expressed by John Bartlett (1820-1905), ‘I have gathered a posy of other men’s flowers and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own.’ Shumei Kobayashi apprenticed with Living National Treasure, painter turned textile artist, Motohiko Katano (1889-1975), and under this master’s influence embraced the idea of original thought and individual creativity as opposed to the studio system and division of labour of Japanese tradition. Shumei, one of the very few remaining artists of this venerable technique, is master of the entire process from concept to final artwork, although remnants of the tradition remain in the artist-specified commissioning of the base canvas of hemp, linen and fine silk from specialists in Kyoto. With no stencil, tsutsugaki is a resist-based painting and dyeing art. Master of silk, cotton and hemp dyeing, Shumei’s power as an artist is strongest in his contemporary interpretations of the traditional and the natural. His bold designs, often abstracted visions, sit as dynamic contrasts to the sensual texture of their background fabric – newly woven linen, fine silk or thick chunky strands of hemp. This exhibition presents the themes of waterfalls and rope - natural threads, sacred threads, and mundane threads. What follows are the artist’s words about this body of work:
WATERFALL 瀧・滝 The idea of water, waterfalls, as sacred is one that arises from the understanding of water as a manifestation of Nature - the larger its scale, the greater our feeling of otherworldly grandeur. From ancient times, humans have acknowledged water’s scarcity and significance. It is both revered and feared - floods for example: water bursting forth as a manifestation of the unapproachable divine. On occasion, waterfalls have even been deified. These works express 40 years of my personal experiences and feelings toward grand waterfalls, particularly the Nachi falls (in Wakayama province, one of the best-known falls in Japan). ROPE 縄・綱・ザイル (ROPE, CORD, CLIMBING ROPE)
For towing, pulling and support, ‘tsuna’ is good; for binding and tying ‘nawa’ is good. For use in weaving, we have ‘ito’ and ‘himo’. ‘Nawa’ and ‘rope’ signify something fairly thick. In the past, the plant ‘tsuru’ and long thin grasses of various kinds were used, also ‘wara’ and raw silk thread. In the 18th century, metal was intertwined to create ‘wire rope’; in more modern times, hemp, Chinese palm, cotton were used, and in the 20th century nylon and other chemical and carbon fibres came into practice. Through use, rope changes state and outward expression... it is like we sentient beings - as we go through the trials and experiences of life, some of us are hurt, while others, licking their wounds, march on, persevering in step with their destiny... I was projecting these thoughts onto rope’s expressions as I worked on these pieces.
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SHUMEI KOBAYASHI b. 1950 SELECTED BIOGRAPHY 1950 Born in Osaka, Japan 1970 Mentors Motohiko Katano (LNT) Tatsuaki Kuroda (LNT), Uzan Kimura (LNT) Shin Kajiyama 1971 Receives award at Ist Hokuriku Dyeing Design Competition 1973 Selected at All Japan Textile Design Competition 1974 Graduates from Craft Department Kanazawa University of Arts & Crafts Receives Encouragement Award at All Japan Textile Competition 1978 Receives three awards at All Japan Textile Competition, wins the greatest number of awards 1979 Tsutsugaki Noren Exhibition at Blackfriars Gallery Sydney Lecturer at Nakanoshima Arts College, Osaka 1982 Several exhibitions in Australia between 1982-1986 1986 Receives award at Asian Textile Design Competition 1989 Creates five large Noren tapestries for Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, Hawaii, for Tokyu Railways 1991 Selected as one of 100 Dyers Japan, presented by Kyoto Prefecture in cooperation with the Japan Kimono Association and the Kyoto Textile Chamber of Commerce Exhibition at Kyoto Cultural Heian Museum Kyoto 1992 Recording of NHK Television Broadcast The Revival of Umezome, the Roots of Kaga Yuzen 1996 Exhibition Tsutsugaki Yuzen Dyeing by Shumei Kobayashi at the Japan Foundation, Sydney 1999 Exhibition Tsutsugaki Yuzen Dyeing by Shumei Kobayashi at Craft Victoria Lecture at the University of Melbourne Creates large Noren tapestries and framed works for Tetsuya’s and Azuma restaurants 2000 Lecture and demonstration at Fukagawa Edo Museum Tokyo 2001 Lecture History of Dye at the Kanazawa Institute for the Renovation of Cultural Properties Involved in the revival of Umezome 2002 Exhibition Tsutsugaki Art Exhibition by Shumei Kobayashi at Tetsuya’s restaurant Sydney 2004 Recording of NHK Television Broadcast Oto no aru Fukei 2005 Lecture and demonstration College of Fine Arts University of New South Wales Exhibition by Shumei Kobayashi at the Japan Foundation Sydney 2007 Tsutsugaki Exhibition Shumei Kobayashi at Silk Love Gallery Tokyo 2010 Commission Tetsuya Waku Ghin restaurant Singapore Marina Bay Sands Solo show Yamaki Gallery Osaka 2011 Australian Academy of Design Melbourne Master class Solo Exhibition Weaving The Future Lesley Kehoe Galleries Melbourne 2014 Asia Week New York The Transcendent Spirit Lesley Kehoe Galleries Solo Exhibition Eyes Half Closed Lesley Kehoe Galleries Melbourne
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瀧 ・ 滝 WATERFALL
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縄 ・ 綱 ROPE ・ CORD
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菩 薩 BODHISATTVA
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TAPE ICON WOOD
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WATERFALL #1
WATERFALL #3
2015 Homespun cotton 29 x 48 cms
2015 Homespun cotton 29 x 48 cms
WATERFALL #2
WATERFALL #4
2015 Homespun cotton 29 x 48 cms
2015 Homespun cotton 29 x 48 cms
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WATERFALL #5
WATERFALL #7
2015 Homespun cotton 29 x 48 cms
2015 Homespun cotton 29 x 48 cms
WATERFALL #6
WATERFALL #8
2015 Homespun cotton 29 x 50 cms
2015 Homespun cotton 29 x 46 cms
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WATERFALL #9
WATERFALL #11
2015 Japanese silk 25 x 51 cms
2015 Japanese silk 26 x 53 cms
WATERFALL #10
WATERFALL# 12
2015 Japanese silk 25 x 51 cms
2015 Japanese silk 25 x 53 cms
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ROPE#1
ROPE# 3
2015 Japanese silk 9 x 19 cms
2015 Japanese silk 39 x 52 cms
ROPE# 2
ROPE# 4
2015 Japanese silk 23 x 28 cms
2015 Japanese silk 40 x 54 cms
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ROPE# 5 2015 Japanese silk 38 x 53 cms
ROPE# 6 2015 Japanese silk 38.5 x 54 cms
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ROPE# 7 2015 Japanese silk 45 x 60 cms
ROPE# 8 2015 Japanese silk 64 x 54 cms
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ROPE# 9
ROPE# 11
2015 Japanese silk 67 x 40 cms
2015 Japanese silk 69 x 43 cms
ROPE# 10
ROPE# 12
2015 Japanese silk 48 x 69 cms
2015 Japanese silk 73 x 50 cms
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DAINICHI NYÅŒRAI (Vairocana)
BOSATSU #2 (Bodhisattva)
1971 Japanese cotton 21.5 x 25.5 cms
2015 Japaese silk 30 x 40 cms
BOSATSU #1 (Bodhisattva)
BOSATSU #3 (Bodhisattva)
2015 Japanese silk 24 x 43 cms
2015 Japanese silk 30 x 40 cms
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BOSATSU #4 (Bodhisattva)
FUDŌ-MYŌ #1 (Acalanatha)
2015 Japanese silk 30 x 41 cms
2015 Japanese silk 30.5 x 41 cms
BOSATSU #5 (Bodhisattva)
FUDŌ-MYŌ #2 (Acalanatha)
2015 Japanese silk 30 x 42 cms
2015 Japanese silk 30.5 x 38.5 cms
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ICON #2 2010 Japanese silk 36 x 52 cms
WOOD# 2
1980 Japanese silk 31.5 x 60 cms
ICON #3 2010 Japanese silk 42 x 52 cms WOOD #1
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1980 Japanese cotton 25.5 x 60 cms
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ICON #5
ICON
2010 Japanese silk 46 x 60 cms
1981 Chinese Hemp 35 x 60 cms
ICON #1
ICON #4
2010 Japanese silk 32.5 x 54 cms
2010 Japanese silk 40 x 55 cms
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BAND #1
BAND #3
2011 Homespun cotton 30 x 42 cms
2011 Homespun cotton 38 x 61 cms
BAND #2
BAND #4
2011 Homespun cotton 31 x 61 cms
2011 Homespun cotton 41 x 54 cms
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INTERWOVEN
1995 Japanese silk
30 x 81 cms
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LESLEY KEHOE GALLERIES
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