N A G A K U R A K E N I C H I

Art ist Statement

While working on my artwork, there is a moment when the intricacies of creation take over. Beyond my intention and control, a minor detail often becomes the major idea and supporting ideas begin outshining the main inspiration. I am often perplexed by these turn of events, nevertheless I fol-low my attraction into an infinite field of creative process. In my traveling down newly exposed paths, I hope for you this show will also be a place of discovery. I appreciate your tak-ing the time to view and consider my latest artwork.

Nagakura KenichiJune, 2009

Kyou 2 2009, 4 1/2 x 11 1/2 x 13 1/2 inchesCover: Brimming 2009, 7 x 17 inches

A chance vis i t to a smal l Tokyo art gal lery in the fa l l of 1997 was my encounter wi th Nagakura Kenichi ’s artwork. I remember v iv id ly how exci t -ing his very contemporary explorat ions of a t radi-t ional Japanese art were. Several of the vessels were l ike drawings in space with the th in str ips of bamboo being the ink, whi le other pieces looked l ike objects found in nature. Seeing Nagakura’s show made me intensely want to meet him and learn about his approach to art making. Our meet ing was the tr ip ’s highl ight . L istening to him talk enthusiast ical ly about his search for an area of the Japanese art wor ld where he could express his creat ive urges was a refreshing change from the in i t ia l reserve of many art ists. That Nagakura discovered his art ist ic medium in his own fam-i ly through his grandfather, who was a t radi t ional bamboo art isan, was del ight fu l . As he talked, I found his exuberant approach of breaking with t radi t ion and st i l l drawing on i t exhi larat ing.

Nagakura’s usage of t radi t ional techniques and mater ia ls in a radical ly di fferent manner than any other bamboo art ist , instant ly found an apprecia-t ive American and European audience. He be-came one of L loyd Cotsen’s favor i te contemporary bamboo art ists. In looking back at Nagakura’s f i rst solo show catalogue from 1999, I am struck by how dynamical ly he has kept art ist ical ly mov-ing forward. This is now his s ixth solo show with the gal lery, and the new body of ar twork is daz-zl ing. “Play” incorporates pieces of Afr ican i ron currency with bamboo coupled with a dense pa-t ina that appears to be metal l ic but is not. The piece is referent ia l to his leaf ser ies started more

than a decade ago, but is now animated with a surreal energy. With “Kyou 1” and “Kyou 2” the forms have the feel ing of an excavated archeo-logical object f rom a past Asian civ i l izat ion. Their appearance could be seen as cast bronze or f i red c lay enveloping a bamboo structure. Nagaku-ra’s abi l i ty to create ambigui ty in artwork is fu l ly achieved in these sculptures. His wal l p ieces cont inue to evolve in new direct ions that del ight the eye from vessels that have the possibi l i ty of containing f lowers to a brand new ser ies of base rel iefs that are painter ly in their execut ion. In “Flow” and “Br imming” the inter laced str ips of bamboo coupled with his s ignature c lay based pat ina looks l ike the surface of a r ichly layered canvas. Nagakura’s love of drawing and paint ing has burst into the medium of bamboo with great f reshness and vi ta l i ty.

In celebrat ion of h is endur ing desire to change and evolve his art , the gal lery decided to make a radical break with our t radi t ion of doing a pr int catalogue, and make his newest artwork avai lable on the internet so that a much larger audience can see and appreciate his latest creat ions.

-Robert T. Coff land

Price l is t avai lable upon request by e-mai l ing gal lery@text i learts.com.

Tendencies 2008, 9 1/2 x 6 x 27 1/4 inches

Contemplation 2008, 11 x 10 x 16 inches

Presence 2008, 27 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches

Play 2009, 12 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches (right)

Ensnared Form 2009, 30 x 16 x 13 inches

Ancient Figure II 2008, 14 x 6 x 15 3/4 inches

Ray of Bamboo Light 2008, 9 x 9 x 26 inches

Intersection 2008, 7 x 5 x 19 inches

Flow 2009, 8 1/2 x 32 inches

Tusk 2009, 3 x 4 1/2 x 23 inches

Moon Flower 2008, 34 x 8 x 23 inches

Leaping Sage 2009, 6 x 10 1/2 x 13 1/4 inches

Tree Ring 2009, 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 x 14 inches

1952 Born in Shizuoka City, Japan1975 Studied under Grandfather1982 Solo exhibition at Gallery Takei, Numazu1985 Solo exhibition at Shin-Gifu Department Store1986 Solo exhibition at Gallery Takei, Numazu and at Shizuoka Gas Salon1988 Solo exhibition at Sapoa People, Tokyo and MOA Gallery, Nagoya1990 Solo exhibition at Umeda Hankyu Department Store, Osaka Solo exhibition at Gallery Kouki, Paris, France1991 Solo exhibition at La Richipel Surle, Bourgogne, France Solo exhibition at Gallery Kukan, Shizuoka and at Shou meido Hall, Tokyo1992 Solo exhibition at Gallery Space Ten, Tokyo Group exhibition at Gallery Yummy, Hamamatsu and at Studio Com, Kyoto1993 Solo exhibitions at Shoumeldo Hall, Tokyo; Gallery F, Gifu Gallery Space Ten, Tokyo Solo exhibition at Hokushin Gallery, Tokyo1994 Solo exhibition at Studio Com, Kyoto and at Gallery Kukan, Shizuoka Solo exhibition at Matsuya Department Store, Tokyo1995 Solo exhibition at Akasaka Yu Gallery, Tokyo; at Fujii, Numazu and Shin-Gifu Department Store1996 Solo exhibition at Isetan Department Store, Shizuoka and at Kanazawa Dept.Store Two person exhibition, Ishigami-no-Oka Open Air Museum, Iwate1997 Solo exhibition at Gallery Kasumi, Tokyo and at Axis Sapoa People, Tokyo Exhibition at German Culture Center, Tokyo1998 Solo Exhibition, Kura Gallery, Gifu and at Axis Sapoa People, Tokyo Group Exhibition, Kodaira Shomei Hall, Tokyo1999 Solo exhibition at Tai Gallery, Santa Fe, NM2000 Bamboo Masterwork”, Asia Society, New York, NY2001 Winner of Cotsen Bamboo Prize 2000 Bamboo Masterworks, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA Solo exhibition at Tai Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Bamboo Masterworks, Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI Bamboo Fantasies, Tai Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

NAGAKURA KENICHI

2002 The Next Generation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR Group Exhibition, Tigerman Himmel Gallery, Chicago, IL2003 Three Views of Bamboo: Fujinuma, Nagakura, Shono; Jewish Museum, Kansas City,KS Solo Exhibition at Tai Gallery, Santa Fe, NM2004 Group Exhibition, Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, VA2005 Solo Exhibition at TAI Gallery, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Exhibited at the Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, New York, NY 2006 Power & Delicacy, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NMvv Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art, Grinnell College, IA Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL Group Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA Collaboration with Daniel Ost at Nocturne, Brussels, Belgium2007 Solo Exhibition at TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets for the Sara and David Lieberman Collection, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ2008 New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters, The Japan Society, New York, NY Solo Exhibition, Susan Sheehan Gallery, NY, NY2009 Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection, The New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM New Bamboo, Clark Center for Japanese Art, Hanford, CA Solo Exhibition at TAI Gallery, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

Museum Collections:

San Francisco Asian Art Museum Clark Center for Japanese Art & Culture Mint Museum of Craft + Design

Back Cover: Sound of a Bamboo Flute 2009, 5 1/2 x 14 x 12 1/2 inches

Photography by Gary Mankus

T A I G A L L E R Y1601 B Paseo de PeraltaSanta Fe, New Mexico 87501505.984.1387www.taigallery.com