ZEN: Tanabe Shochiku x Wakamiya Takashi

ZEN: TANABE SHOCHIKU & WAK A MIYA TAK ASHI

Elegance, 2014, 10.25 Ă— 28 Ă— 8.5 inches

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ZEN: TANABE SHOCHIKU × WAKAMIYA TAKASHI Tanabe Shochiku, the future Chikuunsai IV, is a familiar name to bamboo art enthusiasts.

He is the fourth generation of the prestigious Tanabe Chikuunsai bamboo art lineage.

On the other hand, Wakamiya Takashi, Japan’s rising star in contemporary lacquer art, is very new to TAI Modern. Wakamiya studied maki - e and a wide variety of other urushi lacquer techniques in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, a lacquer art center for over one thousand years. Working collaboratively, Tanabe and Wakamiya have created this new body of work, inspired by Zen Buddhism, on display for the first time in the United States at TAI Modern.

Maki - e (sprinkled picture) is an art form in which the design is typically created by sprinkling gold or silver powder over wet lacquer. Like bamboo art, it is a time - consuming art form. Creating an urushi lacquer piece involves the utmost care and requires a high degree of attention to detail.

Working closely with Tanabe,Wakamiya has achieved something unique in the lacquer field — the ability to apply raised lacquer (takemaki - e) to the uneven and open surface of woven bamboo. Many layers of gold and silver are built up to create a stunning relief effect. In some works, Wakamiya’s boldness of design relies on the interplay of thinner lacquer layers with the open space of Tanabe’s masterful sculptural forms. The two artists truly capture the essence of their respective mediums, and together have forged a new one.

This body of work showcases not only brilliant technical mastery, but superb designs that are based on Zen references and the traditional values of Japan. In the works entitled Leaping Carp, Dragon’s Gate, and Rising Dragon, Tanabe and Wakamiya use the SinoJapanese iconography and symbolism of the carp swimming upstream against a rushing river (a sign of perseverance), and then leaping over the dragon’s gate to transform into a dragon (a sign of success in life). Both Tanabe and Wakamiya incorporate Zen practice into their focused, disciplined studio work. How appropriate then that they have chosen Zen as the title of their collaborative show. ­n

Koichiro Okada, TA I Modern, August 2014

Leaping Carp (with Dragon Netsuke), 2013, 4.25 × 3.5 × 2 inches

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TANABE SHOCHIKU There is a saying in the teaching of Buddhism that “the practice of Zen is not about piousness, but rather that the spiritual is thought to be achieved through devoted discipline.” Studying through years of meditation, one can return to one’s pure self that was given to him at birth. Buddha teaches us to resolve all of our confusions and seek understanding and truth via the path of Buddhism. I believe that this philosophy applies to the foundation of Japanese craftsmanship, and is also the root of the Japanese sense of beauty.

I have been familiarizing myself with bamboo since I was a child. My father, grandfather, and mother taught me Buddhist spiritualism through the practice of bamboo craftsmanship.

I express my Zen spiritualism through devoted daily studio practice.

The traditional Japanese lacquer work also takes on the spirit of Zen. Craftsmen have applied urushi lacquer on bamboo bark since ancient times, however, applying relief maki- e to woven bamboo has never been done before.

The moment I thought about this possibility, I was charged with a heightened energy about this new creation.

Both maki- e and bamboo craft are authentic Japanese art forms with philosophies rooted in Zen Buddhism. I wish to create brand new artworks by merging these two different art forms.

Hanging on a wall in my studio is calligraphy written by my grandfather, Chikuunsai II. This saying has been the driving force of my creativity. My grandfather wrote, “take no mushi” which means to devote oneself fully to bamboo. My definition of Zen also includes challenging myself beyond my own limits by questioning myself as an artist. This process then becomes the catalyst for creating my next work of art.

Enso (Heaven), 2014, 5.5 × 18 × 13 inches (detail)

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WAKA MIYA TAKASHI I was born and raised in Wajima, a rural area in Japan. When I look outside into the expanse of my homeland, I often reflect about my ancestors. “What about them had them go on living everyday life on this remote peninsula?” I was told that my ancestors had an urushi grove although the tree farming tradition in our family stopped sometime in our family history. My father and I have an urushi tree grove in Wajima today and many of the citizens in Wajima are involved in the production of urushi crafts. I had an affinity to this material so it was natural for me to become an urushi lacquer artist.

Urushi lacquerware is a traditional Japanese craft. It is a lacquering and painting process. The natural lacquer is made from the sap of the urushi tree. The process of painting and sprinkling gold and silver powder over the urushi are also part of the craft. The gold and silver designs are referred to as maki- e. Products made with urushi, such as spouted sake servers, sake cups and eating bowls, are called shik-ki. Shik-ki-ware has been used by Japanese people for the past 1,000 years during folk festivals as special utensils for eating and drinking. These folk festivals were celebrations meant to unite the Gods and mortals. Not everyone attains the Zen definition of enlightenment, but family and community can support each other so that the next generation of children can live through the challenges of life and recognize that we are part of our common humanity.

This ethos is a reason for celebration and is my Zen practice.

Through working with this traditional medium, I feel that I can get in touch with my ancestors. When I am in my studio, I imagine that I am bringing back their spirits through the process of urushi application that was passed on to us. As a practitioner of a traditional Japanese craft who is working in modern times, my goal is to enhance the knowledge that was created in the past, and to apply the knowledge to create something new.

Dragon’s Gate, 2013, 21.5 × 8.25 × 8.25 inches (detail)

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Grapevine (Fruit), 2014, 22.75 × 9 × 8 inches

Galaxy, 2014, 28 × 32 × 8 inches Rising Dragon, 2013, 23.25 × 6 × 5.5 inches

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Above: Tiger (with Tiger- Bamboo Netsuke), 2013, 4.25 × 3.5 × 2 inches Right: Reincarnation (Golden Lotus), 2014, 16.5 × 10 × 9.75 inches

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Clouds at Dusk, 1996, 3 × 9.5 × 12 inches

Left: Aun, 2014, 10 × 18 × 18 inches Right: Aun, 2014, 10 × 18 × 18 inches

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Enso (Reincarnation), 2014, 5.5 × 21 × 15.75 inches

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Surging Sea, 2014, 7 × 28.75 × 5.5 inches

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Top: Catching the Moon’s Reflection, 2014, 3.5 × 6.25 × 6.25 inches Bottom: Catching the Moon’s Reflection, 2014, 5.5 × 12.5 × 12.5 inches

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Above: Dragon’s Gate, 2013, 21.5 × 8.25 × 8.25 inches Left: Water Spirit, 2014, 14.5 × 9 × 7 inches

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TANABE SHOCHIKU 1973

Born in Osaka, Japan

1999

Graduated with a degree in sculpture from Tokyo Art University

2002

Group Exhibition, Osaka Modern Art Center Solo Exhibition, Courtland Jessup Gallery, Boston, MA

2003

Group Exhibition, Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich, CH Group Exhibition, National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, NL

2006

Group Exhibition, Seattle Art Museum, WA Group Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA Solo Exhibition, Villa Castagnola, Lugano, CH Group Exhibition, Grinnell College, IA (travelled)

2007

Group Exhibition, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA Solo Exhibition, Art Interactive, Tokyo

2008

Group Exhibition, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Group Exhibition, Japan Society, New York, NY

2009

Group Exhibition, Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Japan

2010

Modern Master Bayern Prize, Munich, DE

2012

Group Exhibition, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY

Group Exhibition, Thailand Creative and Design Center Group Exhibition, Bellevue Arts Museum, WA (travelled) 2013

Group Exhibition, Morikami Museum, Miami, FL Solo Exhibition, Masaki Museum, Osaka

Museum Collections: Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA British Museum, London, UK Japan Imperial Household Agency Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN Museo Nacional de Arte, La Paz, Bolivia Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA Peruano - Japones Centro Cultural, Lima, Peru Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA Seattle Museum of Art, WA Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

WAKA MIYA TAKASHI 1964

Born in Wajima City, Japan

1984

Worked for a local workshop learning basics of urushi lacquer techniques

1988

Studied maki- e technique with Kiso Seizan

1990

Started planting urushi trees for his own supply of lacquer

1998

Studied various urushi lacquer techniques from Hirasawa Michikazu

2002

Became the 30th Chairman of Wajima Young Lacquer Craftsmen’s Association

2005

Organized and exhibited in a group show at the Pola Museum Annex, Tokyo

2006

Group Exhibition, Austria

2008

Solo Exhibition, Kakitsubata, Tokyo Group Exhibition and Workshop, Asian Art in London, UK

2009

Group Exhibition, Embassy of Japan, London, UK

2010

Helped lacquer a Buddhist Pagoda in Chiang Rai, Thailand Co - organized and exhibited in a group show, Embassy of Japan, London, UK

2012

Group Exhibition, Asian Art in London, UK

2014

Group Exhibition, Bahrain National Museum

Museum Collections: Museum of Ethnology, Hamburg, Germany Museum of Lacquer Art, Münster, Germany Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

Above: Zen Dialogue, 2014, 10 × 28.5 × 5.25 inches Back Cover: Reincarnation (Golden Lotus), 2014,16.5 × 10 × 9.75 inches (detail)

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