Kyoto artist Azusa Irizawa belongs to a new generation of lacquer artists who have freed themselves from the traditional constraints of this medium through pushing the boundaries of the dry lacquer, kanshitsu, technique. Dry lacquer is a process by which layers of hemp, paper and lacquer are laid over a mould, allowing the creation of free-flowing shapes unlimited by the constraints of traditional ‘box’ construction.
Azusa is a 2018 graduate of the Kyoto Municipal Institute of Industrial Technology and Culture, where she recalls the guiding taught principle of first create the shape, then enhance that shape with decoration, as she learnt the traditional methods of lacquer decoration using makie and shell inlays. But she found herself increasingly questioning this approach.
Freed from the traditional roles of artist and materials, she set out to capture the gradual evolution of natural phenomena, particularly in the shape of the spiral – one of the basic constructs of the natural realm. As she observed, a fresh leaf or fern frond bursts out as a spiral, the layout of seeds in a sunflower forms a spiral, the wind blows in a spiral, and DNA is a spiral. Even our galaxy and the universe itself is a series of many thousands of spirals.
The technical demands of creating a perfectly true surface finish are considerable. The work goes beyond the traditional, uniform highly polished, roiro, surface finish through the incorporation of textures and contrasting matt qualities. This allows a conversation between each side of the forms, maximising the effects of light reflections on pure form, and rejecting overt decoration. The work is formed of two pieces, which can be joined in a variety of ways. “I am attempting to create forms which can interplay in various combinations, allowing the viewer to choose the path of the conversation to suit their feeling at that time”. Azusa Irizawa, 2021. –
Azusa received the Gifu Art Exhibition Award, Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, 2019, and her work was also exhibited at Kyoto Art for Tomorrow, Museum of Kyoto, in 2019. In 2020 she received the Kyoto City Award for promising new artist, and Ten no Zo #1 was shown at the 75th Anniversary Exhibition of the Kyoto Kogei Association, Museum of Kyoto, 2021.
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HEAVEN’S SCULPTURE #1 Ten no Zo by AZUSA Irizawa (b.1983)
£4,800.00
For all enquiries please contact:
Simon Pilling
simon@simonpilling.co.uk
+44 (0)7946 577303
Description
HEAVEN’S SCULPTURE #1 Ten no Zo
by AZUSA Irizawa (b.1983)
Reiwa period, 2021
Dry lacquer, kanshitsu
2 pieces
Assembled, 50 x 15 x 43 (h) cm.
Kyoto artist Azusa Irizawa belongs to a new generation of lacquer artists who have freed themselves from the traditional constraints of this medium through pushing the boundaries of the dry lacquer, kanshitsu, technique. Dry lacquer is a process by which layers of hemp, paper and lacquer are laid over a mould, allowing the creation of free-flowing shapes unlimited by the constraints of traditional ‘box’ construction.
Azusa is a 2018 graduate of the Kyoto Municipal Institute of Industrial Technology and Culture, where she recalls the guiding taught principle of first create the shape, then enhance that shape with decoration, as she learnt the traditional methods of lacquer decoration using makie and shell inlays. But she found herself increasingly questioning this approach.
Freed from the traditional roles of artist and materials, she set out to capture the gradual evolution of natural phenomena, particularly in the shape of the spiral – one of the basic constructs of the natural realm. As she observed, a fresh leaf or fern frond bursts out as a spiral, the layout of seeds in a sunflower forms a spiral, the wind blows in a spiral, and DNA is a spiral. Even our galaxy and the universe itself is a series of many thousands of spirals.
The technical demands of creating a perfectly true surface finish are considerable. The work goes beyond the traditional, uniform highly polished, roiro, surface finish through the incorporation of textures and contrasting matt qualities. This allows a conversation between each side of the forms, maximising the effects of light reflections on pure form, and rejecting overt decoration. The work is formed of two pieces, which can be joined in a variety of ways. “I am attempting to create forms which can interplay in various combinations, allowing the viewer to choose the path of the conversation to suit their feeling at that time”. Azusa Irizawa, 2021. –
Azusa received the Gifu Art Exhibition Award, Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, 2019, and her work was also exhibited at Kyoto Art for Tomorrow, Museum of Kyoto, in 2019. In 2020 she received the Kyoto City Award for promising new artist, and Ten no Zo #1 was shown at the 75th Anniversary Exhibition of the Kyoto Kogei Association, Museum of Kyoto, 2021.
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