Layout 2 - Denver Botanic Gardens

NAGAKURA KENICHI
NAGAKURA KENICHI has defined his sculpture and relationship
to bamboo as an artistic medium outside the boundaries of the material
and the traditional Japanese bamboo art world. When he was young,
Nagakura searched for an area through which he could express himself artistically, including studying kimono dyeing. Finding none of those
processes fulfilling, Nagakura began to learn basic bamboo splitting
and plaiting techniques from his grandfather, a traditional bamboo
artisan. During those few years, Nagakura found a deep connection
to bamboo and discovered the perfect vehicle for his creativity.
Nagakura’s careful studies of sunlight on a stream’s surface or its
shimmer on a forest floor through the leafy canopy are expressed in his
sculptural explorations. His approach to bamboo shows the thinking
of one not confined by the material. As some painters focus on draftsmanship, others use the paint as a material by working with heavy
impasto —not focusing on representation alone but on paint as a visual
and physical experience. In much the same way, Nagakura does not
create artwork focusing on technique, but on expression and emotion.
In a fluid treatment of texture and surface, Nagakura uses strips of
different widths that are built up in layers and shaped becoming both
line and texture on the exterior of his sculptures. This surface plays with
visual perceptions of space and is enhanced by Nagakura’s distinctive
patina created by combining areas of matte finish with an application
of clay combined with various other materials and gloss finishes through
Cover & Left: Sound of Wooden Kabuki Clappers 2011, 12 1/2 x 7 x 15 1/2 inches
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light touches of lacquer. The effect is that of a painter using warm and
cool colors to pull objects forward or push them into the distance of a
painting. His sculpture has a feel relating to artists like Anselm Kiefer
or Jess Collins, whose surfaces enrich the viewer’s experience of an
artwork. Stacking (Back Cover) and Mist Hanging Over a Valley (Page
21) are two pieces where the play of surface and light change the
perception of space well beyond the physical volume of the sculpture.
Nagakura’s artwork stands with a presence and beauty outside of
the history of Japanese bamboo art. His aggressive pursuit of his own
aesthetic vision has pushed his sculpture into an artistic style uniquely
his own for over thirty years.
Everett Cole, July 2011
Bow 2011, 15 1/2 x 8 x 22 1/2 inches
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ARTIST STATEMENT
In a gentle wind, the bamboo moves freely.
It twists and turns and draws an arc in the sky.
The sense of life is intertwined like the silk of a spider’s web.
As a thin feeler reaching to receive heavenly revelation,
The bamboo tries to capture the form it seeks.
The shapes of bamboo tell me what road I shall take.
I follow it for a time, not knowing where it will lead,
To a place where I did not expect to go.
It is unclear whether or not I will find new possibilities there.
Still I cannot avoid being drawn to this unknown realm.
The bamboo bounces off something trying to suppress it,
Enjoying a moment of change like fireworks shooting into the sky,
Being reborn through my hands.
Nagakura Kenichi
Singing the Praises 2011,13 x 5 x 14 1/4 inches (left)
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Ray of Light Across A Jagged Peak 2011, 25 x 10 x 26 inches (above)
Illusion 2011, 15 x 14 x 11 inches (right)
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Light Reflected on Running Water 2011, 29 1/2 x 19 x 16 3/4 inches
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Intersecting Lights 2011, 33 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 50 1/2 inches (left)
Drifting in the Air 2011, 26 x 23 x 13 inches (below)
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Water Moving Uphill 2011, 26 x 9 x 10 1/2 inches
Split Bamboo 2011
6 x 4 3/4 x 20 inches
Split Bamboo II 2011
5 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 39 inches
(right)
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A Far Away Place 2011,17 x 6 x 13 inches
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Large Vessel with Rope Handle 2011, 24 x 12 x 28 inches
Colorful Clouds 2011, 7 3/4 x 4 1/2 x 12 inches (above)
Mist Hanging Over a Valley 2011,16 x 5 3/4 x 49 3/4 inches (right)
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NAGAKURA KENICHI
1952
Born in Shizuoka City, Japan
1975
Studied under Grandfather
1982
Solo Exhibition: Gallery Takei, Numazu
1985
Solo Exhibition: Shin - Gifu Department Store
1986
Solo Exhibitions: Gallery Takei, Numazu and Shizuoka Gas Salon
1988
Solo Exhibitions: Sapoa People, Tokyo and MOA Gallery, Nagoya
1990
Solo Exhibition: Umeda Hankyu Department Store, Osaka
Solo Exhibition: Gallery Kouki, Paris, France
1991
Solo Exhibition: La Richipel Surle, Bourgogne, France
Solo Exhibitions: Gallery Kukan, Shizuoka and Shoumeido Hall, Tokyo
1992
Solo Exhibition: Gallery Space Ten, Tokyo
Group Exhibitions: Gallery Yummy, Hamamatsu and Studio Com, Kyoto
1993
Solo Exhibitions: Shoumeido Hall, Gallery F,
Gifu Gallery Space Ten and Hokushin Gallery, Tokyo
1994
Solo Exhibitions: Studio Com, Kyoto, Gallery Kukan, Shizuoka
and Matsuya Department Store, Tokyo
1995
Solo Exhibitions: Akasaka Yu Gallery, Tokyo, Fujii, Numazu
and Shin - Gifu Department Store
1996
Solo Exhibitions: Isetan Department Store,
Shizuoka and Kanazawa Department Store
Two - Person Exhibition: Ishigami - no - Oka Open Air Museum, Iwate
1997
Solo Exhibitions: Gallery Kasumi and Axis Sapoa People, Tokyo
Exhibition, German Culture Center, Tokyo
1998
Solo Exhibitions: Kura Gallery, Gifu and Axis Sapoa People, Tokyo
Group Exhibition: Kodaira Shomei Hall, Tokyo
1999
Solo Exhibition: TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2000
“Bamboo Masterworks,” Asia Society, New York City
2001
Winner of Cotsen Bamboo Prize 2000
“Bamboo Masterworks,” Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, California
Solo Exhibition: TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
“Bamboo Masterworks,” Honolulu Academy of Art, Hawaii
“Bamboo Fantasies,” TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2002
“The Next Generation,” University of Arkansas, Little Rock
Group Exhibition: Tigerman Himmel Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2003
“Three Views of Bamboo: Fujinuma, Nagakura, Shono,”
2004
Group Exhibition: Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, Virginia
2005
Solo Exhibition: TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Kansas City Jewish Museum, Overland Park, Kansas
Exhibited at the Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, New York
2006
“Power & Delicacy,” TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
“Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art,” Grinnell College, Iowa
“Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art,” Chicago Cultural Center, Illinois
Group Exhibition: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
Collaboration with Daniel Ost, Nocturne, Brussels, Belgium
2007
Solo Exhibition: TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
“Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman
Collection,” Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe
“Listening to Bamboo: Japanese Baskets from the Collection of
Rita Lou and Robert Harris,” Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
2008
“New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters,”
The Japan Society, New York City
Solo Exhibition: Susan Sheehan Gallery, New York City
2009
“Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman
Collection,” The New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe
“New Bamboo,” Clark Center for Japanese Art, Hanford, California
Solo Exhibition: TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2010
“Intertwined Bamboo and Stem,” Japanese American Cultural &
Community Center, Los Angeles
“Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman
Collection,” Museum of Art and Design, New York City
2011
Solo Exhibition: TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Museum Collections:
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, California
Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture, Hanford, California
Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, North Carolina
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University
Back Cover: Stacking 2011, 18 x 12 1/4 x 14 1/4 inches
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