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NAGAKURA KENICHI
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ARTIST STATEMENT For me, bamboo is what pigment is for a painter or stone is for a sculptor. Discovering their true medium is a profound pleasure for an artist. When the sensitivities of both artist and the material are in synch, the medium becomes the voice, flesh, and heart of the artist. Working with bamboo, I become both author and audience. The resulting creation stands between two worlds – visible and invisible. I hope that it resonates with an eternal 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 and distant. My desire is to share with other human beings the silent voice of nature.
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Nagakura Kenichi, 2016
Early Autumn, 2016, 26 × 15 × 8 inches
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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
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Above: Overflowing, 2016, 10.5 × 22 × 18 inches Right: Crag, 2016, 11 × 9.5 × 9 inches
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Cluster, 2016 19 × 6.5 × 5.5 inches
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Chapter, 2016 26 × 9.5 × 4.5 inches
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Ring of Water, 2016 33 × 35 × 14 inches
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Upon the Wind, 2016, 9.5 × 35.5 × 5 inches
Broken Fan, 2016, 12.25 × 26.5 × 16 inches
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Rising Peak, 2016 43 × 36 × 8.5 inches
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Above: Basin, 2016, 13 × 22 × 8 inches Right: Harmony, 2016, 13 × 14.5 × 7 inches
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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, Japan
1972
Graduated from Waseda University
1976
Graduated from Oita Prefectural Bamboo Craft and Training
1979
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
1985
Judge at 25th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
1988
Judge at 28th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
1989
Winner of Mitsukoshi Department Store Award
Support Center
at 24th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
at 29th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Solo Exhibition at MOA Gallery, Nagoya 1990
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 Museum
1992
Judge at 5th Japan Traditional Craft Arts, Wood and Bamboo Exhibition
1994
Winner of Japan Craft Art Association Award at 6th Japan Traditional Craft Arts, Wood and Bamboo Exhibition
1996
Judge at 36th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
1997
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, Tokyo
2002
The Next Generation, University of Arkansas, Little Rock
2003
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 ) Handle, 2016, 11.5 × 22.5 × 18 inches the Agency of Imperial Household Fruit Basket with Wood 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:
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NAGAKURA KENICHI B.1952, Shizuoka City, Japan “For me it is very important to use parts of a bamboo plant from above ground and parts from below ground,” Nagakura says. “I like to add bamboo roots to some of my work as a reminder of the dark side of life.” Unaffiliated with any of Japan’s craft arts organizations, Nagakura is the first recipient of the Cotsen Bamboo Prize, awarded in 2000, and an esteemed independent artist for more than 30 years. His organic artworks are rooted in the functional baskets made for centuries for flower arranging at Japanese tea ceremonies but also borrow from wide-ranging sources, including European sculpture, the American pop art movement, indigenous Japanese forms, and cord-patterned clay work from the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. His fine plaiting mimics complex line drawing and the graceful shapes of his vessels are inspired by human form and by 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 wanted to make artwork. He spent three years splitting bamboo for his grandfather, who was a bamboo craftsman. Several years later he brought his work to a contemporary gallery that gave him a solo show. He is passionate about jazz, classical, and rock music, and strives to 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 work has 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 Art and Design, New York; New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM; Asia Society, New York; 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, California Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, North Carolina Herbert 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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