KIBE SEIHO
Prelude, 2014 , 10 × 15.25 × 15.25 inches
THE BAMBOO ARTWORK OF KIBE SEIHO IN CONTEXT
Moroyama Masanori
Close to 30 years have passed since I was asked by Lloyd Cotsen to research his collection of nearly 1,000 works of Japanese bamboo art. Cotsen had amassed the world’s largest collection of Japanese bamboo art, encompassing not only historic masterpieces by Tanabe Chikuunsai I and Iizuka Rokansai, but also carefully and systematically selected bamboo artworks by modern artists in Japan. Starting in 1999, an exhibition of the Cotsen Collection toured the United States. This traveling show paved the way for works of Japanese bamboo art to be recognized and to receive the world’s attention. It also presented a major opportunity for contemporary bamboo artists in Japan to find success overseas.
The Cotsen Bamboo Prize, established in 2000, encouraged many up - andcoming bamboo artists and gave them a greater international perspective. Kibe Seiho was a finalist for this prize in 2004. Gaining more confidence in his work, Kibe went on to win multiple prizes at the annual Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, the largest public juried exhibition of Japanese kogei (craft arts). Kibe Seiho resides in rural Kokonoe-cho, a mountain town surrounded by natural beauty not far from the cities of Beppu and Oita. He is a bamboo artist who has come to assume a prominent role in the world of traditional Japanese kogei in Kyushu and throughout the country. Highly regarded in Japan, his accomplished and exquisite baskets are imbued with his sincerity and respect for the art form. Even though he started to learn bamboo art relatively late in life, Kibe has developed a unique and individual style, building upon the fine technique passed down by his mentors, Honda Syoryu and Kadota Niko.
One of the major influences on the development of traditional Japanese bamboo art, Iizuka Rokansai of Tokyo led to its recognition as a fine art by incorporating innovative ideas and expressive artistic elements. Then, Shono Shounsai revealed a contemporary and individual sensibility through freely sculptural forms. Tanabe Chikuunsai II of Osaka, heir to a lineage steeped in
literati culture, created a legacy of refined, sophisticated baskets. It can be said that all active bamboo artists in Japan are influenced by these distinguished artists in one way or another. In the case of Kibe, while his works do suggest the subtle influence of Shono Shounsai from the same prefecture, I feel that he instinctively carries on the elegant, literati - influenced aesthetic tradition of Tanabe Chikuunsai II.
Kibe often employs kushime - ami (comb - plaiting) parallel bamboo strips of differing widths, shapes, and colors of blond, brown, and the rich umbers of susutake (smoked bamboo) slanted to create delightfully curved forms. In other works, he uses mat and chidori plaiting to convey primary themes of mountains and sunlight with deep emotion. A net of extremely fine strips in the cross pattern of chidori overlays mat plaiting of subtle gradations of color, allowing Kibe to create exquisite elegance and rhythmic depth. In Sound of Sea Waves , Kibe expresses profound feeling through imagery of ocean waves their movement and way of catching light by shifting the twined horizontal strips of bamboo to create open spaces in the outer wall of the basket.
Recently, in Beppu and Oita, there is increased certainty that interest in the bamboo arts is growing in the younger generation. After Shono Shounsai established the pure formal tradition of this region by embracing both the beauty and utility of bamboo art, artists such as Shono Tokuzo, Honda Syoryu, Morigami Jin, and Kibe Seiho have become representatives of Oita’s bamboo arts scene. As I watch Kibe’s sincere support in teaching younger students, I am confident that this young and spirited generation, taught by those artists who came before, is on the rise. These young artists are now developing and creating their own art, representing the next generation of Japanese bamboo artists.
Moroyama Masanori is a Craft Arts Historian and Former Senior Curator at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
Sound of Sea Waves, 2015, 13.25 × 8.75 × 8.75 inches
ART I ST S TA TE M E N T
It has been exactly 30 years since I quit my job to attend the Oita Prefectural Bamboo Craft Training Center in Beppu. Life was not easy after I graduated; however, I felt a sense of joy and hope every time I was able to complete a work of my own.
I had my first overseas solo show in Santa Fe in 2009. I am so happy to return ten years later to show my new body of work. I weave fine strips of bamboo to capture the passing moments of nature and to express my feelings and emotions. Simple forms, flowing lines, and harmonious colors these are the three elements I always keep in mind when I create my work.
A bamboo I like to use is susutake, which comes out of the thatched roofs of old farm houses in the area where I grew up. This bamboo is naturally colored by smoke from the irori, a sunken hearth built into the floor. The life and activity of the people who inhabited these houses is what gives the susutake its color. The rich caramel hues are the result of the cumulative effect of 100 years or more of human life. Susutake is really a record of generations of a family sitting together around the irori during cold winter days, warming food over the hearth, drinking a cup of tea together. When I place these old bamboo strips side by side or weave them together, the memories of those lives are integrated into my work.
In recent years, aligning straight elements in a parallel fashion to create new sculptural shapes has become popular. I use age - old weaving techniques, which have been passed down from one generation to another over many decades. I particularly like chidori - ami (plover - plaiting) each row of bamboo is accompanied by two extremely fine strips that undulate and cross one another as they zigzag above and below to create “x” shapes. The elegant pattern this creates is so beautiful to me.
Seeing this show, I hope viewers find the beauty of bamboo in my works.
n Kibe Seiho
Autumn Wind, 2019, 13 × 9 × 7.75 inches
Galaxy, 2019, 9.25 × 13 × 12 inches
Bamboo Grove, 2016
15.5 × 11.5 × 9 inches
KIBE SEIHO
Kibe Seiho was born in 1951 in Kusu - Gun, Oita Prefecture, on Kyushu, Japan’s westernmost major island. Although Oita is a major center for bamboo crafts and forestry, he took a circuitous route to a life in bamboo. Kibe was working as a gas station attendant when, in his thirties, he resolved to live a more mean ingful life through artistic creation. In 1989, Kibe left his job and enrolled at the Oita Prefectural Bamboo Craft Training Center in Beppu.
Kibe was a top student but graduated into Japan’s Lost Decade of post -bubble economic stagnation. After years of struggling to make a living as a bamboo artist, he returned part - time to the gas station. The founder of T A I Gallery, Robert Coffland, helped revive Kibe’s career in 20 01 by commissioning a major artwork which sold to an American client immediately. T he next several pieces sold as fast as Kibe could ship them to the US, and this income allowed him to focus on his artwork alone from then on.
Kibe has a good eye for proportion and design, and the shapes of his vessels are understated but distinctive. He is a patient perfectionist who often works out a particular idea over several versions of a piece. His recent work exhibits a dazzling variety of complex plaiting patterns using contrasting light and dark bamboo.
Kibe became a full member of the Japan Craft Arts Association in 2000 and has won many prizes at national exhibitions. He was a finalist for t he Cotsen Bamboo Prize in 20 04. He won Best of Show at the 39 th Seibu Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition in 2004 and at the 10 th national Wood and Bamboo Exhibition in 2005 In 2006 and 200 7, Kibe was one of seven artists selected to participate in a series of workshops offered by Living National Treasure Hayakawa Shokosai V. In 2 014, he was awarded the Purple Ribbon by the Japanese Congress for lifetime achievement in the arts. Kibe’s baskets are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, and the Oita Prefectural Art Museum.
Open Sky, 2018, 16.75 × 10.25 × 10.25 inches
