KOJI HATAKEYAMA MEMORIES OF A THOUSAND YEARS 31 October – 27 November 2018 www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/kojihatakeyama
KOJI HATAKEYAMA MEMORIES OF A THOUSAND YEARS The Scottish Gallery is delighted to present a new series of bronze cast boxes by Koji Hatakeyama. Memories of a Thousand Years marks his fourth exhibition with The Gallery and his first as a Professor. Koji Hatakeyama is recognised as a master of his craft in a country renowned for objects which directly relate to the traditions, ceremony and beliefs ingrained in the Japanese psyche and cultural history. Koji Hatakeyama was born in 1956 in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, a mountainous region north west of Tokyo which has been a centre for bronze, copper and lacquerware production since the early 1600s. Hatakeyama studied metalwork at the Kanazawa College of Arts and Crafts in 1980 and since then he has concentrated his practice primarily in the creation of patinated, cast bronze boxes. These years of dedicated experimentation with bronze has made him a master craftsman. His work has been exhibited internationally and it is held in numerous museum collections worldwide. The sense of place in Koji Hatakeyama’s work is paramount; Toyama Prefecture is historically part of the Kaga feudal domain of the Maeda Daimyo who were significant patrons of the arts and were responsible for establishing Kaga as the centre of traditional bronze and copper casting, ceramics and lacquerware. Bronze is status; religious artefacts, swords and other war related articles marked the social uniform of the aristocracy. The Takaoka Daibutsu Buddha is one of the great landmarks of the city; an impressive bronze sculpture 16 metres high and weighing 65 tonnes, it is the third largest bronze Buddha in Japan and symbolises the dominance and importance of bronze casting in Takaoka. Today, the region currently produces around eighty percent of Japan’s casting works, religious and secular, and this industrial history is celebrated at a local metal foundry, Nousaka. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) the Great Expositions of Europe saw Japanese arts and crafts showcased to the world for the first time. Japanese ornamental and functional metalwork particularly stood out; never before had an audience seen such inventive alloys, richly decorated surface patinas and exquisite inlay techniques which were regarded as both sublime and beautifully alien. Hatakeyama’s ‘contained vessels’ use traditional bronze casting techniques by pouring molten metal into a mould which creates the basic shape or ‘box’ – each box is named after the number of ‘faces’ within the box shape and a matching bronze lid is made. Various chemicals are applied to the outer faces – such as miso paste and vinegar; the surface patination takes months to achieve. The completed
Koji Hatakeyama in his studio, Takaoka, Japan 2018
surfaces are entirely abstract and deeply connected to his surrounding landscape. He applies gold, platinum or silver leaf to the interior. To complete the box, the base is often entirely polished back to bronze or gilded – every detail is deliberate and considered. The finished, signed piece is then placed inside a tomobako, a simple elegant wooden box bearing the signature and seal of the artist and the stamp of the tomobako box maker. Koji Hatakeyama describes bronze as being a ‘material with memories of a thousand years’ dating back to the Silk Road. ‘I believe that within bronze lies a consciousness; one that was created in ancient times but that can also exhibit my own. For me, casting is not just a matter of pouring bronze into a mould. It is a way to express one’s own consciousness.’ Buddhist principles and the Japanese tea ceremony are evident in Hatakeyama’s enigmatic boxes; some work relates directly to the tea ceremony but there is an aesthetic scheme at play. The use of Japanese tea developed as a transformative practice, such as the wabi-sabi principle. ‘Wabi’ represents the inner, or spiritual, experiences of human lives. Its original meaning was characterised by humility, restraint, simplicity, naturalism, profundity, imperfection and asymmetry where the emphasis is on simple, unadorned objects. ‘Sabi’ represents the outer side of life. Among Japanese nobility, understanding ‘emptiness’ was considered the most effective means to spiritual awakening and embracing imperfection, as the first step to ‘satori’ or enlightenment. There is a satisfying weight to Koji Hatakeyama’s boxes, from the richness of the patination that travels around the object, to the actual physical weight of the work; each box has a scholarly presence. Lifting the lid reveals a golden or silver interior which lights up the viewer; in Japanese culture there should be no darkness. ‘A person experiencing the aura emitted from inside the box, is able to understand the workings of the mind even more. When the box is closed, the inside is plunged into darkness, however, inside this darkness exists a coruscating realm.’ Whilst Koji Hatakeyama’s boxes are inextricably linked to Japan, his work also transcends and connects with western philosophies of modernism and abstract expressionism. As a Professor at Kanazawa College of Art, it is now part of his practice to instil and inspire a new generation of artists in metalwork and The Scottish Gallery is delighted to welcome him once again to Scotland. Christina Jansen The Scottish Gallery
Koji Hatakeyama’s studio in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
1/ Six Faces I, 2018 cast bronze, gold leaf H33 x W37 x D19 cm
2/ Eight Faces IV, 2018 cast bronze, silver leaf H17.2 x W15.5 x D15 cm
3/ Eight Faces V, 2018 cast bronze, gold leaf H16.8 x W14.5 x D14.5 cm
4/ Eight Faces III, 2018 cast bronze, gold leaf, platinum leaf H20.2 x W20 x D10.5 cm
5/ Eight Faces IX, 2018
cast bronze, gold leaf H6.7 x W7.8 x D6.2 cm
6/ Eight Faces VII, 2018
cast bronze, gold leaf H9.7 x W12 x D10.5 cm
7/ Eight Faces II, 2018 Cast bronze, silver leaf, platinum leaf H20.5 x W21 x D10 cm
8/ Eight Faces VI, 2018 cast bronze, gold leaf H20.2 x W20 x D10.5 cm
‘There is a sense of enlightenment when opening the lid. My intention is to enter a different world, a different place. This place has no darkness.’ Koji Hatakeyama, 2018
9/ Eight Faces I, 2018 cast bronze, gold leaf H33.5 x W16 x D16 cm
10/ Eight Faces VIII, 2018 cast bronze, silver leaf, platinum leaf H11 x W12.5 x D12 cm
11/ Six Faces II, 2018 cast bronze, gold leaf H21 x W21 x D11.5 cm
12/ Twelve Faces I, 2017 cast bronze, gold leaf, platinum leaf H36.5 x W29.5 x D13.5 cm
‘I create contained vessels; I try to convey the sense that something is concealed or hidden within. I try to provoke a sense of the spiritual world in my bronze boxes. The patterns and facets I create on the outside are a direct response to the landscape, real or imagined.’ Koji Hatakeyama, 2018
From left to right: Eight Faces IX, 2018 (cat. 5) cast bronze, gold leaf, H6.7 x W7.8 x D6.2 cm Eight Faces VI, 2018 (cat. 8) cast bronze, gold leaf, H20.2 x W20 x D10.5 cm Eight Faces I, 2018 (cat. 9) cast bronze, gold leaf, H33.5 x W16 x D16 cm
13/ Ten Faces I, 2018 cast bronze, silver leaf, platinum leaf H18 x W21 x D20 cm
14/ Four Faces I, 2018 cast bronze, gold leaf H21 x W30.5 x D16 cm
KOJI HATAKEYAMA Born in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture of Japan, 1956
Education 2017 Currently Professor at Kanazawa College of Art, Ishikawa, Japan 1980 Graduated from Kanazawa College of Arts and Crafts, Department of Metalwork Selected Solo Exhibitions 2018 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK 2017 Aso Bijutu, Tokyo, Japan 2016 Lesley Kehoe Galleries, Melbourne, Australia 2015 Erskine, Hall & Coe, London, UK 2014 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK 2013 Art Front Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 2013 Exhibition Space, Tokyo, Japan 2013 Gallery Shibunkaku, Kyoto, Japan 2013 Ippodo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 2012 Galerie Petit Bois, Osaka, Japan 2012 Gallery Kochukyo, Tokyo, Japan 2011 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK 2009 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK 2009 Kochukyo, Tokyo Gallery Nishikawa, Kyoto, Japan 2008 Takashimaya Gallery X, Tokyo Kandori, Tokyo, Japan 2007 Gallery Totaku, Nagoya Gallery Now, Toyama, Japan 2006 Gallery Kai, Tokyo Kogen, Nagoya, Japan 2006 Arai Atelier Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 2005 Takashimaya, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka Nanohana, Odawara, Japan 2004 Seikado Gallery, Kyoto, Japan 2003 Gallery Sano, Shizuoka, Japan 2000 Miharudo Gallery, Tokyo v Gallery Plannet, Nagoya, Japan 1999 Gallery Naufu, Gifu, Japan
1998 1991 1990
Galerie Pousse, Tokyo, Japan Matsuya Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Maronie Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
Selected Awards 2000 Received the 11th Takashimaya Art Award, Takashimaya Cultural Foundation 2007 Grand prix Sano Renaissance 2012 Received the MOA Museum Art Award Selected Public Collections Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, UK Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen, UK The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia Museo de Arte Moderno, Bouenos Aires, Argentina The Museum of Applied Art, Frankfurt, Germany Denmark Royal Family, Copenhagen, Denmark National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan The Japan Foundation, Tokyo, Japan Takaoka City Museum, Toyama, Japan Musee Tomo, Tokyo, Japan Rakusuite Museum, Toyama, Japan MOA Museum, Atami, Japan Shiseido Art House, Kakegawa, Japan Yakusiji, Nara, Japan MIHO Museum, Shiga, Japan
Koji Hatakeyama’s studio in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition KOJI HATAKEYAMA MEMORIES OF A THOUSAND YEARS 31 October – 27 November 2018 Exhibition can be viewed online at www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/kojihatakeyama ISBN: 978-1-910267-92-9 Designed by Kenneth Gray Printed by Barr Printers, Edinburgh All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.
Cover: Six Faces I, 2018 (cat. 1) (detail) Inside front cover: Eight Faces I, 2018 (cat. 9) (detail) Inside back cover: Eight Faces VI, 2018 (cat. 8) (detail)