T HE NE X TG ENE R AT ION

In this catalogue the works of ten young “next generation”Japanese basket artists are featured as examples of contemporary

trends in bamboo art. Selected artists include:

H O N D A S Y O R Y UH O N M A H I D E A K I

I S O H I S E T S U K O

K AWA S H I M A S H I G E O

K I B E S E I H O

M I M U R A C H I K U H O

M O R I G A M I J I N

N A K AT O M I H A J I M E

TA N A B E S H O C H I K U

Y O N E Z AWA J I R O

T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N

February 15 – March 18, 2007Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

Sponsored by Lloyd E. CotsenOrganized by TAI Gallery with coordination

by Yoshiko Yoneyama, Tokyo

Special thanks to Emily Sano, director; Deborah Clearwaters,Melissa Rinne, Yoko Woodson, Forrest McGill, Stephen Penkowsky,Cathy Mano, Nancy Kirkpatrick, Tim Hallman, Elizabeth Bachetti,Kazuhiro Tsuruta, Tom Christensen, and other Asian Art Museumstaff members and volunteers too numerous to mention here.

Catalog Design by Michael MotleyPhotographs by Gary Mankus

For better or worse, it seems to this outside observer of the art of theJapanese basket maker, the emphasis on a traditional response is loos-ening, thus allowing a flowering of individual artistic interpretation,direction, and innovation. However the discipline and links of thesenew artists to the old ways are secured by the mentorship of theirteachers and by the power of their basket making heritage.Perhaps the western tendency to “push” future growth presents a

challenge to Japanese values that have been integral to bamboodesign, but it should also stimulate both the artists and the viewer. This“next generation” will almost certainly influence and motivate theirpeers. Following their developing careers is an adventure in growthand change for them as well as all of us who are interested in theirwork.Some of the most honored “living treasures” senior basket makers

have nominated their choices for the rising stars of their art form. Thisensures a continuation of the Japanese basket making tradition, albeitwith the recognition that the future ultimately depends on the creativi-ty of succeeding generations. In making these selections, the masterbasket makers assume an important role in assuring the continuanceof the genre.Mentors understand and protect the tradition. The next generation,

represented in this exhibition, seeks to bend, if not break, that tradi-tion. These opposing aims create a wonderful dynamic that can beseen in Japanese society as a whole and here in the microcosm ofbamboo basket development.

Lloyd E. Cotsen

HONDA SYORYU

(b.1951)

Honda crafts dramatic, undulating sculpture that demonstrates his fas-cination with line, volume, and space. Seamless lengths of braidedbamboo, dyed in warm shades of tobacco, gold, and bronze, resem-ble leather or metal. The artist is a master at tight ajiro plaiting, a tech-nique he has adapted from generations of Japanese bamboo boxmakers. A finalist for the Cotsen Bamboo Prize in 2000, 2002, and2004, Honda’s work is now part of the permanent collections of theMuseum of Arts and Design in New York City, San Francisco AsianArt Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Mint Museum, and the Ruthand Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art.

It has been said that bamboo vessels possess a contained beauty.Traditionally they have been made from the bottom-up, with bulging,voluminous bodies, and finished with tight rims. In the 1960s, ShonoShounsai made a sculpture he called Doto (Raging Waves, in the col-lection of National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo) that ushered in thesecond wave of bamboo art. Fifty years later, his piece remains con-temporary.

Though he intuitively works with similar spatial themes, in recentyears Honda Syoryu has established his own sculptural style. In ahighly innovative process, he meticulously constructs tube-like formsand then contorts them in the service of his vision. In Revolution, theviewer can sense his expanding, explosive energy. – Shono Tokuzo

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Revolution 2006, 221/2 x 19 x 151/2 inches

Collection of Brian O'Hea and Carlos Hatch

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HONMA HIDEAKI

(b.1959)

After an accident caused a loss of sight in one eye, Honma resignedfrom the Japanese air force. His uncle and adopted father, theesteemed bamboo artist Honma Kazuaki, had no heir so Honma,who loved to draw and work with his hands, stepped in to carry onthe family’s bamboo business. His work is inspired by the abundantplant and animal life of his native Sado Island and is made of menya,a type of soft, pliable bamboo, that only grows there. Honma prac-tices karate and tea ceremony and is an advocate of local culture. Hiswork is included in the collection of the Ruth and Sherman Lee Institutefor Japanese Art.

In bamboo art, concepts can be expressed either by plaiting bamboostrips or by constructing parallel lines. Honma prefers the former, andwith this method evokes the flexibility, geometry, and beauty of hismaterial. His flared, undulating forms, made with “matsuba-ami” (aplaiting technique with pine needles pattern), are shaped with knotsand the use of multiple planes. By combining smooth, delicate sur-faces and dynamic knotting, he creates a sense of motion that seemsto radiate into the surrounding space. His inventiveness animates hiswork. – Hayakawa Shokosai V

Knot 2006, 19 x 11 x 26 inches

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ISOHI SETSUKO

(b.1964)

Isohi Setsuko is one of only a handful of Japanese women to earnrecognition in the bamboo arts. Born in Otawara City, Tochigi Pre-fecture, she has studied Ikebana flower arrangement and Sencha teaceremony. Her desire to arrange flowers in her own baskets led to aclass in 1997 with local bamboo teacher Yagisawa Tadashi. She hasexhibited in the Tochigi Art Festival, Japan Traditional Craft ArtsExhibition’s Eastern Division and other venues and has won severaltop awards, including the Eastern Division prize. In 2003 she wasadmitted into Japan’s prestigious Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition andhas since shown nationally.

Offering trays are considered by the bamboo artists to be the mostchallenging. This tray by Isohi Setsuko rests quietly and delicately on aflat surface. Upon careful viewing, a breathtaking harmony betweenthe materials and techniques in Isohi’s work emerges. The usage of twodifferent plaiting techniques in the inner surface creates a visual patternimplying rippling water. The elegant handle is beautifully integratedwith the body of the piece. Her choice of two warm tones of brownare reminiscent of old smoked bamboo. These subtle points are coun-tered by fine rattan finishing knots on the rim and handle that make foran exceptionally beautiful composition. – Robert T. Coffland

Festival of the Star Vega 2004,161/2 x 111/2 x 5 3/4 inches

KAWASHIMA SHIGEO

(b.1958)

The creator of large, outdoor, site-specific sculpture and small-scalemodels, Kawashima’s sense of adventure is inspired by ShonoShounsai, Japan’s first Living National Treasure in bamboo arts. Ateacher at the Beppu Occupational School when he was only in histwenties, Kawashima has placed pieces in some 30 public locationsthroughout Japan, Europe, and the United States in the last decade,including the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, and exhibited in adozen shows featuring emerging contemporary artists. His creativityand quickness to master new techniques have established his reputa-tion as a leader of the next wave of bamboo sculptors.

Known for his large outdoor sculptures, my attraction to Kawashima’swork began when he began expressing his ideas in portable pieces.

In his work I see negative and positive space, defined by freshlycut, thin, flowing bamboo ribbons, punctuated by small, bow-like ties.The liberation and separation of space allows his designs to escapethe restrictions of size, volume, and material.

To me Kawashima’s work is akin to a spatial trapeze artist; he flieshigh to achieve an airy, light, and lyrical vision of bamboo in motion.

Here is an artist on a new adventure, proving that less is more andmore is less. – Lloyd E. Cotsen

Stream of Spirit 2006,131/2 x 13 x 201/2 inches

Private Collection

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KIBE SEIHO

(b.1951)

Kibe was working as a gas station attendant when, in his thirties anddespite his family’s objections, he quit his job to learn bamboo.Though he has no formal training, his work illustrates an intuitive senseof proportion and a mastery of complex plaiting suggestive of quilt-ing. Recently he has expanded his traditional repertoire, movingstrongly into the contemporary realm. The artist became a full memberof the Traditional Craft Arts Association in 2000. Four years later hewas a finalist for the Cotsen Bamboo Prize. His baskets are in the per-manent collection of the Denver Art Museum and the San FranciscoAsian Art Museum.

In Echo, artist Kibe Seiho forges a delicately flaring hourglass-shapedvessel from straight strips of bamboo using the parallel constructiontechnique of comb plaiting. The twisted body is highlighted with a softgradation of color that suggests gentle undulation, an effect repeatedin the wave-patterned twill plaiting on the underside of the base as wellas in the lyrically spaced knots encircling the rattan-edged rim andbase. Perhaps the title suggests the reverberations of a Japanese hour-glass drum (tsusumi). Echo demonstrates this multi-talented artist’s intu-itive grasp of the subtle interplay between form, color, and technique.– Emily Sano, Director, Asian Art Museum

Echo 2006, 7 inches diameter x 131/2 inches

The Cave of the Son of God 2006, 18 x10 1/2 x 18 inches

Collection of Anthony and Kay Marks

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MIMURA CHIKUHO

(b.1973)

After studying classical trombone at a German conservatory, Mimuraenrolled at the Beppu Occupational School, where he founded anassociation of young bamboo artists. After graduation his mentor, YufuShohaku, taught him a traditional rustic style of basketry that incorpo-rates roots and whole chunks of bamboo. His contemporary sculptur-al vessels are based on this approach. Mimura has sidestepped Japan’spublic exhibition system in favor of being an independent artist. Hehas demonstrated basket making for public audiences in Los Angeles,Santa Fe, San Francisco, and Naples, Florida, and was included in“The Next Generation” exhibit at the University of Arkansas.

Mimura Chikuho uses a traditional technique called irregular plaiting(yatara ami), which was a hallmark of his first teacher, Yufu Shohaku.However he applies it in an innovative sculptural milieu, perhapsbecause of the influence of his present teacher, Honda Syoryu. In thiswork, with its tiny opening in a cavernous enclosure, Chikuho sug-gests one of Japan’s most famous creation myths. A minute beam ofreflected light piqued the curiosity of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu,thus luring her out of self-imposed confinement in a rocky cave andrestoring light to the world. The Cave of the Sun God evinces Chi-kuho's ability to use the bamboo medium to create modulated sculp-tural forms inspired by his culture and the world around him.–Melissa Rinne, Assistant Curator of Japanese Art, Asian Art Museum

MORIGAMI JIN

(b.1955)

Morigami is the son of bamboo artisans and among the most giftedof the younger generation of Japanese bamboo artists. A graduate ofthe Beppu School, he is credited with introducing a new style of bas-ketry to the Beppu market. When his work debuted in America, hewas so consumed with earning a living he had given up creating newpieces. But Western interest has breathed new life into his career. Hisinnovative hexagonal plaited pieces are part of collections at theDenver Art Museum and the Museum of Arts and Design in New YorkCity. In 2004, he was a finalist for the Cotsen Prize.

In Flying Dragon, Morigami highlights the transparent effect of hexag-onal plaiting and cleverly combines it with the simple creation of tri-angles from three interlacing strips of bamboo to fashion a beautifulsculptural form. Returning to the basics, he discovers new and won-derful ways to design his work. As the title of the piece suggests,Morigami’s spontaneity, imagination, and inspiration are the hallmarksof his art. – Katsushiro Soho

Flying Dragon III 2006,151/2 x13 x 27 inches

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The Sound of the Moon 2005, 171/2 inches diameter x 91/2 inches

Collection of Dick and Holly Altman

NAKATOMI HAJIME

(b.1974)

Nakatomi attended one of Japan’s top private colleges and was aserious ceramic student until he was lured by the beauty and versatil-ity of bamboo. He attended Beppu Occupational School and appren-ticed with Honda Syoryu. His interest is in quiet, delicate vessels thatstraddle the line between traditional and contemporary styles. A stu-dent of Sencha tea ceremony, his work has twice garnered the OitaGovernor’s Prize and, in 2004, the Beppu Mayor’s Prize at the 40thBeppu City Bamboo New Works Exhibition. The youngest artist in thisexhibition, Nakatomi has only recently begun to show at the nationallevel in Japan.

Nakatomi’s The Sound of the Moon, with its oblique line construction,exhibits originality. But the innovative designs and technical achieve-ments of Melody Moon and Melody of Peach illustrate why he hasbeen selected to represent the next generation of bamboo artists. Theslightly raised and tightened lip, the combination of lines radiating fromthe rim, the parallel lines within, and the dark brown tones so suited tohis traditional style, give this work extraordinary visual power. – HonmaKazuaki

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TANABE SHOCHIKU III

(b.1973)

Like his father, Tanabe attended art school and earned a degree insculpture. He is the chosen son, slated to become Tanabe ChikuunsaiIV, representing the fourth generation of bamboo artists in his presti-gious family. His signature is organic sculptural forms made with tigerbamboo and other natural materials which have been recognizedwith numerous accolades, such as the Mayor’s Award at the SakaiCity Art Exhibition in 2001 and the Osaka Craft Exhibition ChoiceAward in 2004. He exhibits and demonstrates around the world andhis work is housed at the Seattle Art Museum and PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art. Recently Lloyd Cotsen donated one of Tanabe’s bas-kets to the Long Beach Museum of Art.

In the Connection series Tanabe suggests a cellular chain of organicmatter. He employs line and form to reference flow and energy. Hisspecial gift is his ability to extract the enchanted and often unseenstrength of bamboo. This, combined with his philosophies and aes-thetic perspectives, elevates bamboo from craft to a sculptural medium.– Nagakura Kenichi

Connection -Origin 2005, 321/2 x 28 x 251/2 inches

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YONEZAWA JIRO

(b.1956)

A student of basket-making at the Beppu School and an apprentice toOno Masakatsu, Yonezawa uses traditional techniques, among thema formal, symmetrical, tight weave and the looser, irregular weavecharacteristic of indigenous Japanese farming and fishing baskets.Working the inside and outside “skin” of his inventive pieces, heapplies layers of laquer as well as powder ground from pine soot andother ingredients to fill the crevices. For the artist, basketry representsa search for beauty and precision in nature and a way of balancingthe chaos of the times. His style combines the conventional methodsof Japan and the unrestrained aesthetic of America.

Yonezawa Jiro’s Jizo is exquisitely conceived and executed. His mas-terful design exploits the dimensionality of bamboo and its directionalweave, along with the material’s patina, depth of surface, and thespace achieved by crisscrossing thick and thin plaited bamboo stripsto create a form rich in metaphor. Simultaneously a cache, cocoon,vessel, and womb, Yonezawa’s rendering bespeaks a journey throughwhich the line of the woven bamboo symbolizes neither a visiblebeginning nor end. His homage to Jizo Bosatsu is apt in form, con-cept, and technique. The artist captures the spirit of Jizo’s many roles,among them the protector of children, expectant mothers, and abort-ed and miscarried babies.– Mark Richard Leach, Founding Director and Chief Curator,Mint Museum of Craft + Design

Jizo 2005, 321/2 x 28 x 251/2 inches