Fujinuma Noboru 2013

FU J IN UMA NOBORU

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Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 248, 2013, 20.75 x 4 inches

ARTIST STATEMENT

In this new series, I focus on perhaps the most notable feature of bamboo, the nodes

(fushi), by utilizing a technique of multiple layers of lacquer. Fushi in my language also

means “milestone” as in the events that demarcate the stages of life. This new body of

work is a personal milestone. The labor over the past two years was intensive and, at

the same time, also a very joyful and satisfying process.

Every piece of bamboo is different and selecting lengths of the right diameter, curvature,

and spacing of the fushi was key to my inspiration. In the forest I might look at one hun-

dred mature bamboo plants before finding one which suited my vision. I would cut it

down and thus the process began. I cut into the bamboo and sculpted its surface and

over many months time applied more than one hundred layers of color-added natural

lacquer. I would then sand back through the layers to expose the artwork’s hidden beauty.

The dialog between the fushi and me guided the creation process and was much more

direct than I have ever experienced before. Answers were everywhere. I simply needed

to eliminate the self and seek them. By revealing the hidden anatomy of the nodes that

our eyes cannot see from the outside, I hope to share with the viewer my experience of

looking for answers about life.

n Fujinuma Noboru, July 2013

Madoka (A Complete Circle), 2012,15.5 x 5.5 x 4.5 inches (detail at right)6

Small Boat 2013, 15.5 x 25 x 10 inches

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WHEN I FIRST MET Living National Treasure Fujinuma Noboru in 2008 in Japan, hisvivacious personality was a delight.With infectious enthusiasm, Fujinuma gave me a tour

of his studio after which we had tea in the artwork display space of his home. There

Fujinuma had examples of his work from the past thirty years. I especially liked the unique

rim on a recent basket. Fujinuma placed it next to one he had completed ten years before.

The older piece was a gorgeous full-bodied basket with a flat rim. The newer piece was

similar in shape, but with a wonderfully balanced sculpted rim. I could not comprehend

how the flat- rimmed basket led to the elegant piece. My expression must have been one

of confusion because Fujinuma went on to share the story of the process that marked a

major technical development in his art.

Fujinuma set out to create a rim inspired by Noh theater masks. The mouth of the mask

forms two concave curves with a peak at the top and bottom where the arcs meet. Con-

stantly experimenting he incrementally moved to a curved concave shape. He built up

the edges by half an inch with every piece he made learning and adapting his techniques

to push his idea forward. Looking at the bamboo artworks throughout the room I could

then see the incremental progress in the various basket rims. They could be lined up chron-

icling the evolution of an idea into technique like recorded time on a sandstone cliff in

northern New Mexico.

I was astounded by Fujinuma’s dedication to ten years of arduous work to bring one

idea to fruition. This same perseverance and subtle evolution culminates in his recent

body of bamboo lacquer artworks.

Intense colors with glowing reds grab you when you first encounter his newest series.

These works transform an accessory for flower arranging, the otoshi, into an art object.

The otoshi is the traditional bamboo vase containing water and flowers which is placed

inside a flower basket. Many bamboo artists continue to provide an otoshi with the

baskets they create. Never has the bamboo flower vase been a featured object until

Fujinuma challenged this idea with his lacquer bamboo work.

Fujinuma has experimented on and off with lacquered bamboo over the past two

decades with his efforts culminating in this stunning body of artwork. The objects in his

2013 show are his first deep exploration of this process, consuming all his creative

energy for the past two years. Utilizing the natural structure of the bamboo, Fujinuma

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selects sections of the plant with unique qualities. After careful study of the bamboo culm

on which he is working, he makes several fluid cuts forming the artwork foundation of

the piece. He then begins the laborious work of applying up to one hundred coats

of 100% all-natural lacquer. When the drying time between coats is considered, a single

bamboo lacquer vase can easily take nine months to create.

Vibrant colors are achieved through a study of color theory and an inquiry into

painters’ practices of building rich colors by layering complementary colors over one

another, imbuing the top layer with a glowing radiance. Building layers consisting of

blacks, blues, and greens beneath layers of luscious reds, Fujinuma creates a stratum

of color enhancing the richness of the outermost coat of lacquer. With a delicate touch

he works through the layers of color by carving and sanding them, excavating shades

and patterns which create a complex surface that captures and delights the viewer.

Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 240 (page18) and Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 257(page 23) are graceful with delicate lines. In order to create these, Fujinuma selected

bamboo with character that he poetically revealed. Dark lacquer on the solid bases of

these pieces contrasts with splashes of yellows, greens, and blues which peek through

the middle of the vases, and deeper colors play off the ladder - like structure.

Strong verticals bring to life the surfaces of some, such as those pictured on page 20.

Leaving more of the carved surface intact, with bright colors remaining in the lower

recesses, the composition moves the viewer’s eye to the negative space of the opening.

The elegant proportions of the cut holes frame the dark interior creating a harmonious

visual tension that sings.

Bamboo art in Japan elevates the practice of basket making to the level of fine art.

Fujinuma accomplishes the same by elevating the otoshi with his adaptations of form and

saturated layers of color. His recent creations are striking objects that bring a new

conversation to the bamboo art dialog.

n Everett Cole, July 2013

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Left:

Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 2522013, 21.75 x 4.5 inches

Right:


Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 2432013, 28 x 4.5 inches


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16 Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 250, 2013,19.5 x 4.75 inches

Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 240, 2013, 31.75 x 5 .5 inches

Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 251, 2013,23 x 4.5 inches (detail at right)

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Bamboo LacqueredCylinder 251, 2013

23 x 4.5 inches

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Right:


Left:




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Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 2472013, 24.75 x 4 inches

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Above: Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 250, 2013,19.5 x 4.75 inches

Left : Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 252 , 2013, 21.75 x 4.5 inches

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Above : Dream, 2005, 15 diameter x 9 inches

Left: Spring Light, 2010, 12.5 x 12 x10.75 inches

FUJINUMA NOBORULiving National Treasure of Japan

1945 Born in Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

1976 Apprenticed to Yagisawa Keizo

1977 Admitted to the Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Eastern Division

(thereafter admitted 24 times)

Admitted to the Musashino Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition

(thereafter admitted 4 times, winning one award)

1980 Admitted to the Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition

(thereafter admitted19 times)

1981 Received the Art Festival Award at The Tochigi Prefecture Art Festival

(received awards in three subsequent festivals)

1982 Solo Exhibition: Utsunomiya Ueno Department Store, Utsunomiya, Japan

1984 Became full member of Traditional Craft Arts Association

Solo Exhibition: Kichijoji, Tokyo, Japan

1985 Received the Chairman of Craft Arts Association Prize

at the 33rd Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition

Received the Traditional Craft Arts Association Tokyo Division Award

at the Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Eastern Division

1988 Judge at the 28th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Eastern Division

1990 Received Encouragement Award at the 30th Japan Traditional

Craft Arts Exhibition, Eastern Division

1991 Judge at the 31st Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Eastern Division

1992 Winner of the Tokyo Governor’s Prize, 39th Japan Traditional

Craft Arts Exhibition

1994 Judge at the 6th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Wood and Bamboo Exhibition

Judge at the 41st Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition

1996 Judge at the 7th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Wood and Bamboo Exhibition

1999 “Bamboo Masterworks,” Asia Society, New York

2000 Finalist, Cotsen Bamboo Prize 2000

“Bamboo Masterworks,” Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

2001 “Bamboo Masterworks,” Honolulu Academy of Art, Hawaii

Solo Exhibition: Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan

2002 “The Next Generation,” The University of Arkansas, Little Rock

Group show, The Tigerman Himmel Gallery, Chicago

2002 Solo Exhibition: TAI Gallery, Santa Fe

Public demonstration, Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe

2003 “Three Views of Bamboo: Fujinuma, Nagakura, Shono,”

Kansas City Jewish Museum, Overland Park, Kansas

“The Classic Japanese Basket,” TAI Gallery, Santa Fe

2004 “Bamboo in Japan,” The Morikami Museum, Delray Beach, Florida

Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Arts group show,

Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, Virginia

2005 Awarded the “Purple Ribbon” by the Japanese Congress for lifetime

achievement in the arts, presented by the Emperor of Japan

Solo Exhibition: The Japan/American Cultural Center, Los Angeles

“Weavers of Wonder,” Naples Museum of Art, Florida

2006 “Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art,” Grinnell College, Iowa

“Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art,” Chicago Cultural Center

Group Exhibition: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

2007 “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

Ritalou & Robert Harris,” Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art,

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York


Collection,” New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe

“Form Follows Function or Does It?,” University of Arkansas at Little Rock

“Listening to Bamboo,” Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY


Collection,” Museum of Art and Design, New York City

2011 Solo Exhibition: “Fujinuma Noboru: Master of Bamboo,” Art Institute of Chicago

2012 Named “Living National Treasure”

2013 Solo Exhibition: TAI Gallery, Santa Fe

Museum Collections: Art Institute of Chicago; British Museum, London;

National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Denver Art Museum; Asian Art Museum,

San Francisco; Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture, Hanford, California

Right: Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 244, 2013, 28.5 x 4 inches Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 246, 2013, 25.25 x 3.75 inches Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 245, 2013, 25.5 x 4.5 inches

Back Cover: Bamboo Lacquered Cylinder 249, 2013,19.25 x 4.25 inches

TA I GA L L E R Y1601B Paseo de Peralta

Santa Fe, NM 87501

505.984.1387

www.taigallery.com

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Fujinuma Noboru 2013