The soil, where the stones have weathered, is rough and cracked, marking the passage of 2000 million years. Okurayama Jakudo ceramic board. Produced in 2019. Exhibited at Gallery 册. Photography by Yuichi Ikeda

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2019.12.27

3. Ceramic artist Takahiro Kondo's encounter with the soil of Tohoku. Art Biotope Nasu “Water Garden” Fantasy space and time

The soil, where the stones have weathered, is rough and cracked, marking the passage of 2000 million years. Okurayama Jakudo ceramic board. Produced in 2019. Exhibited at Gallery 册.

Photography by Yuichi Ikeda

“Water Garden and Kuwa” - To the nature of soil -

Written by Takahiro Kondo

 

The Autumn Night's ``Water Garden and Kuwa'' art event begins in the evening with Noboru Yasuda's dance and chant, and when a fire is lit from the Kuwa (Utsuwa) installed in the water garden, creating a magical moment. It became a way to experience space. And then, the fusion of water and fire through the medium of earth sank silently into the darkness of the water garden. A year's worth of preparation and production was condensed into this 45-minute art installation, making it a memorable one.

 

Last year, I met Hitomi Kitayama for the first time in several years at a two-person exhibition titled "Annihilation" with Kei Ichiyanagi and myself that was being held at Tokyo Gallery. Along with Mr. Ichiyanagi's music, the content depicts how the earthen earthenware that I created collapses due to water, an attempt to explore spatiality in music, which is time art, and temporality in art, which is spatial art. It was an exhibition of. Mr. Kitayama must have seen something in the work that resonated with him, and afterward he was asked to hold an art event at the water garden.

“Water Garden and Kuwa” Art Night Event/Installation. At the ``Yama no Schule'' held in October 2019, Noboru Yasuda Noboru performed a dance in the water garden at night. For this purpose, Kondo's work (Okura Jakudo Suibaba) was lit. “Water Garden and Kuwa” Art Night Event/Installation. At the ``Yama no Schule'' held in October 2019, Noboru Yasuda Noboru performed a dance in the water garden at night. For this purpose, Kondo's work (Okura Jakudo Suibaba) was lit.

“Water Garden and Kuwa” Art Night Event/Installation. At the ``Yama no Schule'' held in October 2019, Noboru Yasuda Noboru performed a dance in the water garden at night. For this purpose, Kondo's work (Okura Jakudo Suibaba) was lit.

Then, when I visited Nasu and saw Junya Ishigami's water garden, I felt that it would be better not to do anything here.No matter who created the work, it would destroy the spatial balance and spirit of this water garden. Ta. However, based on my previous concept of ``bringing water out of the fire through the medium of earth,'' I was able to imagine the keyword of fire in the water garden. And in the water garden at night, the works are almost invisible. I thought I could avoid disrupting the balance of the water garden. Now, what kind of work will you create after that? It was a process of trial and error, but I had decided to create my work on the soil of Tohoku, where I had been involved until now.

The glaze cracks like snake scales and shines blue-black. Okura Jakudo kiln strange bowl. Produced in 2019 and exhibited at Gallery 册. Photography by Yuichi Ikeda The glaze cracks like snake scales and shines blue-black. Okura Jakudo kiln strange bowl. Produced in 2019 and exhibited at Gallery 册. Photography by Yuichi Ikeda

The glaze cracks like snake scales and shines blue-black. Okura Jakudo kiln strange bowl. Produced in 2019. Exhibited at Gallery 册.

Photography by Yuichi Ikeda

Normally, at my studio in Kyoto, I mainly create works using porcelain clay from Amakusa, Kyushu. He blends clay for the works he wants to express, orders them by courier, shapes them, and fires them in a computer-controlled electric kiln. On the other hand, I have another workshop in Shichikashuku-cho, on the old road that runs through the foothills of Mt. Zao in Tohoku. About 20 years ago, I built a climbing kiln inside a boarding high school. At the same time, he discovered clay that could be used for pottery in the mountains behind him, and since then he has been holding workshops every summer. They are engaged in the production of pottery by digging up the original soil from the mountains and using thinned red pine wood to fire it in a climbing kiln. In a sense, it is the opposite of the production process in Kyoto, but for me these two polarities are important elements when thinking about ceramic art.

The iron content of Jakudo changes into the glaze and turns silver. Okurayama Jakudo bowl. Produced in 2019. Exhibited at Gallery 册. Photography by Yuichi Ikeda The iron content of Jakudo changes into the glaze and turns silver. Okurayama Jakudo bowl. Produced in 2019. Exhibited at Gallery 册. Photography by Yuichi Ikeda

The iron content of Jakudo changes into the glaze and turns silver. Okurayama Jakudo bowl. Produced in 2019. Exhibited at Gallery 册.

Photography by Yuichi Ikeda

This time, I came across Tohoku's soil, which I believe is the most suitable for the art biotope concept and water garden. This is the weathered red clay (Jakudo) from the Date Kanmuri Ishi of Mt. Okura in Marumori. Date capstone was a favorite stone of Isamu Noguchi in his later years, and is famous for his sculptures that contrast the rusted stone surface with the black polished surface. I heard from the representative, Yoshisuke Yamada, that Mt. Okura sank into the sea twice 2000 million years ago. It was a strange sight to see round stones emerging from the red clay. And while stone is wonderful, I was drawn to the eroded and weathered red clay of the stone, so I started creating works. Since then, each time I have made a prototype, the clay has taken on a variety of expressions, both in form and glaze, providing me with inspiration.

Scenery of Date Kanseki and Jakudo Mt. Okura. Photography by Isao Hashinoki Scenery of Date Kanseki and Jakudo Mt. Okura. Photography by Isao Hashinoki

Scenery of Date Kanseki and Jakudo Mt. Okura.

Photography by Isao Hashinoki

For me, the material of earth is the core of my expression, but should I control it or not? I feel that creating with intention, the element of chance and chance, and making use of materials as they are are both the charms and challenges of ceramic art. I feel that Jakudo instructs and guides me through my work on the issues and the true nature and core of clay modeling. Currently, he is creating a Jakudo ceramic wall in the newly established space of Art Biotope.

 

 

Photography by Kimu Sazi Takahiro Kondo Ceramic artist Photography by Kimu Sazi Takahiro Kondo Ceramic artist

Profile

Takahiro Kondo

Potter

Born in 1958 in Higashiyama Shimizu, Kyoto City. When he was a student, he was a table tennis player who was a Japanese high school and university champion and represented Japan in international tournaments. After completing his training at the Kyoto City Industrial Research Institute, he trained at the workshop of his father, Kondo Tadashi, a potter. In 2002-2003, he was an overseas trainee artist dispatched by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and completed the master's program at Edinburgh University of Art (winner of the Inglis Allen Masters Award). His recent solo exhibitions include Setouchi City Museum of Art (Okayama), Joan B. Mervis Gallery (New York), and Kakkikan/Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art (Kyoto). His works include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Scotland, the Guimet Museum, and many other public collections.

 

Photography by Kimu Sazi

 

Art Biotope Nasu https://www.artbiotop.jp/

Text by Takahiro Kondo

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