2019-10
Form of Love
Shigeo Tanaka restored a 280-year-old house in the village of Kayamori, which lies in a valley among the mountains of Asuka, a part of Japan with ancient Baekje settlements. In the courtyard, he built a hanok-like workshop with a thick and rounded roof of straw. The workshop looks as old as the house. To be able to live and work in such an environment must be very special. There is a great waterfall deep in the mountain well away from the mountain’s paths. The waterfall runs so deep and clear that the overlapping currents have the color of jade. It is said that this is the gateway to Ryugu, the sunken palace of Ryujin. This is the same jade that washes over Tanaka’s white porcelain work. This color looks to me like the glinting of a dragon’s eye.Tanaka’s kiln is in the mountains near his house and workshop. He also has a farm that surrounds the kiln. He always sends me some delicious fruits from his farm.This time there was a concern that the kiln’s temperature might not exceed the 1,000 degrees needed to melt the glaze over the following four days. But sure enough, the pillar of fire rose through the chimney of the kiln and the next morning when Tanaka looked inside, the glaze had melted beautifully. I think that the ash work is even more exquisite as it bears the traces of so much firewood. These days splashes of pink sometimes accentuate the pottery’s white surface. Tanaka incorporates ancient shapes, marking our eternal search for the truth. The work is made with such exquisite feeling that the essence of the universe is summoned out. The chaotic interweaving of old and new sprits makes his work unrivaled. The truth behind beauty appears as love.
Oct 1, 2019
AAWAA
Facebook
Twitter
Shigeo Tanaka
Form of Love
Because I like antiques and especially pottery, I started making it myself.
At first it was fun to work on the wheel but recently I have made many things with hand gestures and string which allows me to express myself even more. I have come to meet a variety of interesting people in recent years and one of them gave me a particular suggestion: “Why not close your eyes when you work?” When I try it, something unexpected is sure to happen. With your eyes closed, you get a deeper sense of handling the soil, so you can focus on the dialogue with the soil. Another person said to me, “Your kiln has a will. Fire has a will. You are loved by the kiln”. This made me very happy and I wanted to converse with the kiln. These works are part of my dialogue with the earth and with the kiln.
Shigeo Tanaka
−
We are pleased to present the 3rd exhibition; Shigeo Tanaka “Form of Love” at Center for COSMIC WONDER.
Tanaka lives an old house of 280 years old in Asuka village, Nara Prefecture, his works making from a Hole type kiln “Rikei gama” and “Touen-shiki Takigama”.
We will present a work that reveals the truth and beauty, born in an intimate dialogue with soil and kiln, connects the past and the present.
Exhibition period:
November 9 – November 17 , 2019
The artist will be attending on November 9
Opening Talk:
“Form of Love”
Shigeo Tanaka, Primi-Chibu, AAWAA
Date: Saturday, November 9 / 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Fee: Donation
Number of seats: 30
*All the seats are booked.
Place:
5-18-10 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
T. +81 (0)3 5774 6866
Open 11am – 7pm
*Closed: November 8
Miyakono Yasuda
ancient sound
The natural world plays a natural music of overtones that settles our breathing and steadies our nerves.
On this spherical, spinning Earth, silent vibrations constantly stir our blood and bones and revitalize our cells.
I thought that something similar was happening in earthenware pots.
Something was being transmitted by earthenware for years and years.
I tried to measure their frequencies.
Large open-mouthed pots have a low frequency, while narrow-mouthed vases have a higher frequency due to their faster resonance.
It depends as well on the thickness, form, and quality of the clay.
The same is true for a tuning fork.
A low frequency produces a dull reverberation and a high frequency rings with a clear sound.
I think it’s the difference between use value and taste.
Leave water in an earthenware pot overnight and its resonance will send ripples through the water.
If I play a small harp above an earthenware pot, it becomes an amplifier.
If I bury a clay pot in the soil it will absorb the sound from above the ground, which is why it has found a modern use as soundproofing.
I choose stone as a conduit to receive the frequencies emanating from the soil.
When I shape an earthenware pot on a stone, I can hear the same sound that the ancients heard.
I think this is a good way to feel their rich and sublime spirituality.
Miyakono Yasuda
−
We are pleased to present the fiest solo exhibition; Miyakono Yasuda “ancient sound”.
Miyakono Yasuda mixed the cray and soil around the Jomon ruins with plants from unique perspective.
The soil is formed by hand-twisting, and the work is fired by noyaki process.
Yasuda is trying to make the sound of ancient people appear through her works.
It feels as an act of connecting sprit and thought in harmony with nature (God) to the present.
Exhibition period:
October 13 – October 20, 2019
*The artist will be attending on October 13
*Closed: October 11 – 12
*Temporary changed open time / 1pm – 7pm , October 13.
Opening Ceremony:
Saturday, October 13 / 4pm
Miyakono Yasuda
Born in 1972.
Started activities based on plants, minerals, and soil from 2012.
Create works by connecting ancient pottery formation, studies fired by Noyaki (open firing) with unique senses.
Yasuda has been involved in the activities and art production of Cosmic Wonder since its establishment.
