Sculpture and ceramics are two areas in which contemporary Japanese artists tend to be strong. In fact, many of the artists in the show that do 3D work are also involved in the annual Nitten show in Tokyo. Their work covers a wide range. The International Exhibition of At at the Annex as part of the 30th Kyoto Art Festival naturally has work by many sculptors, glass artists, and ceramicists.

As soon as you walk into the main gallery hall, a large sculptural piece is usually in the large space on the left. Kasuke Kishi often has a piece here, probably because his often move. In this corner, people and other pieces of artwork are safe when his large sculptures rotate. Do you see that red dress? That belongs to his granddaughter.

 Her dress has a badge with her name written on it, just like they do at nursery schools, kindergartens, and elementary schools. I do not know what the Chinese characters for her name are, but it is an interesting name. Written in hiragana like that it could mean the basics or the ABCs of a subject. I assume that the first character of her name might be 彩, which means colour. Isn’t that perfect for the granddaughter of an artist?

As you move inside, the centre of the gallery tends to have three-dimensional pieces in the centre and flatter pieces hung on the wall. (Glass will be included in this post unless it is stained glass, which will be in another post.)

This huge ceramic piece by Yuzo Taniguchi was wrapped in blankets and carried in carefully by four men, and they installed it at the front of the row. As you can see, it won a prize: the International Exhibition of Art and Design grand prize. (By the way, the linked site is in Japanese but you can see more ceramics from the Taniguchi kiln.)

The details are amazing! It is entitled 時想球 (ji-so-kyu?) or transliterated as Time Thoughts Orb, a giant orb with which you can think about time. The prize was well deserved.

Both sides of a stone sculpture by Kaoru Eto, who is constantly helping and supporting others in the Kyoto arts community. This one is called, Ties to the Future or 未来への絆(Mirai he no Kizuna).

Lien-Tzu Chuang Hasu from Taiwan participated in this show for the first time and used Swarovski crystals on this beautiful ceramic container. The colour in this first photo is more accurate than the in the second photo but perhaps a bit more turquoise.

Can you see the crystals on the lid of Lien-Tzu Chuang Hasu’s piece?

Yuko Koyama‘s ceramic pieces are very distinctive. This one is called, Two in One.

Yuko Koyama’s piece is spiral, so you want to walk around it but you must do so very carefully as to not nag into everything else.

Chang Yih-Ming, a ceramicist from Taiwan, followed this group show up with another show called Muzinzo  later in Tokyo.

The colour was amazing! Several people commented that it is difficult to make such a shape.

Le Thanh Nguyen Phuong is a Vietnamese artist now living in Kyoto, Japan working primarily in ceramics.

 

Look at the detail and complex shapes in her work!

Masami Katayama is another ceramicist of high standing who has been involved in this group show for many years. This piece is, 山赤く (Yama Akaku) or Red Mountain.

Masakazu Hoki admits that his ceramic work is influenced by the art of African masks.

Yoshihiro Kubo has been making horns like this recently out of porcelain.

Tatsuki Tokuriki is a glass artist who has work in private and public collections throughout the world.

Goni Harlap participated in this group show for the first time and was the winner of the Kyoto City International Foundation prize. This is from the Funnel series. They are made from rubber, clear resin, and other mixed media.

Eiko Yamada was the winner of the KBS award last year with her red octopus bowl. Her butterfly vase this year went in a different direction, vertically.

I think this vase with the ripe grapes is by Harumi Aoki.

Ko Takeuchi made this lovely vase with red irises.  He is one of the world’s leading experts in using sand blasting in glass art and even has a museum filled with his work.

Cake Hara‘s installations are always thought-provoking. He will also be involved in the 2017 Kameyama Triennale.

Ryosaku Takeda‘s woodwork continues to be understated with clean lines.

As you can see, the artwork is varied and te quality is high. Many of these artists exhibit every year in this show as well as many others throughout the year.