Beyond Canvas— The warm current amidst contemporary art, Japanese contemporary sculptor

Japanese contemporary art consists of rich original cultivation, contemporary artists skillfully demonstrate the unique fascination of Japanese contemporary art. In which, the delicate charm presented in the creation of contemporary Japanese sculpture is even more captivating, it is also the embodiment of the culture that exists long ago. Art and crafts can be viewed as the cultural consciousness of a rich country, among them painting and sculpture are considered as prominent. There is a long history in the tradition of Buddhist sculpture in Japanese culture, during the Meiji Restoration period, Western sculpture training system was also introduced. After the Restoration, theTechnical Fine Arts School (Kobu Bijutsu Gakko) was established and hired Italian Vincenzo Ragusa as teacher in the sculpture department. Both the Eastern and Western sculpture system collides and blends within the academic, and gradually developed a peculiar style of Japanese culture. Even in contemporary works, one can still witness the extraordinary performance by integrating these two cultures, as well as the exquisiteness displayed by the remarkable charm of sculptural art.

Beyond the Canvas — The market price in sculpture brings more imagination

Throughout the passage of time, contemporary Japanese sculpture has been deeply explored towards the social dimensionality and mentality. This season Ravenel's Modern and Contemporary Art proudly presents a series of Japanese contemporary sculptural art, conveying a variety of delicate emotions and techniques amid from different perspectives. Japanese woodcarving art presents rigorous but distinctive artistic features. Most of the woodcarving artists have retained the carving patterns, the warm texture of the wood, self-effacing and self-controlled, while the three-dimensional sculptures other than woodcarving also deliver the unusual inner context of the creator. This autumn sale handpicks nine Japanese contemporary sculpture artists: Kato Izumi, Ikki Miyake, Yoshimasa Tsuchiya, Ai Haibara, Satoru Koizumi, Moe Nakamura, Akio Ohmori, Yoshitoshi Kanemaki and Ryoichi Yamazaki, their sculptures breakthrough the two dimension space as if experiencing freehand painting, which delicately depict the inner soul of the sculptor and reveal their individual style and charm.



















加藤泉的自然與神話「我的人生是不斷的冒險」

1969年出生於日本島根縣，加藤泉的木雕創作上展現對哲學的生死、宇宙、人生觀的體現。加藤泉於1992年日本武藏野美術大學造形部油畫科畢業後無立即投身藝術界，反而當上建築工人，這樣的生活持續了6、7年後直至而立之年，他毅然決定離開工地，全心全意做創作。他的創作總是取名為無題，不過大部分以人形般的生物為主，作品形象略帶神秘彷若山林中的精靈，有著萬物皆神靈的似日本神道教精神。作品有著鮮明原文化形象，如神話傳說般生物充滿生命力，從其創作當中看見加藤泉對於古自然的嚮往，也可以窺視藝術家充滿想像冒險的探索精神。

「與繪畫不同的是, 雕塑的創作永遠沒有終結。 」— 加藤泉

「繪畫應該像小朋友那樣隨意揮筆」加藤泉曾這樣描述，他喜歡古物，也喜歡逛博物館，尤其鍾情日本繩文時代的雕像固使加藤泉的作品特徵鮮明，時而雌雄同體、四肢纖長且姿態詭譎，彷若植物屬性卻又帶著動物般豐沛的生命力生長於土地的原始力量。2005年，加藤泉開始探索雕塑的三維空間，因此他開始了一系列木刻雕塑的創作，反覆出現的如神靈般的生物形象賦予了另一種形式的存在。他保留了木頭原始的質感，粗曠、原始有如充滿生命力的非洲雕塑，更為原生藝術的一種極致表現。此次秋拍羅芙奧現代與當代藝術敬獻加藤泉完成於2014的木雕作品《無題》，帶著風格化的蝙蝠翅膀及昆蟲網狀眼，怪誕且脫俗，亦表現出他對人類形象高度風格化的處理，使觀者面對藝術家於自然萬物的獨特詮釋，似人似神既親切又陌生的創作，嚴肅、靜謐卻充滿旺盛生命力，從平面到立體，從繪畫到雕塑，加藤泉自由豐富藝術特質創造出當代雕塑中無限大的可能性。

The nature and myth of Kato Izumi “My life is a constant adventure”

Born in Shimane Prefecture, Japan in 1969, the wood carvings of Kato Izumi uncover the life and death in philosophy, the mass universe and the incarnation of life. After graduating from the Department of Oil Painting, Musashino Art University in 1992, he did not immediately throw himself into the art world, instead he worked in construction industry for 6 or 7 years until he was 30 years old. He then decided to leave the construction site and wholeheartedly devoted to creation. His creations are always named Untitled, yet most of them are human-like creatures. The imagery of his works is slightly mysterious, resembling the spirits resided in mountains and forests, with the spirit of Japanese Shintoism that all living things are divinities. His work contains a distinct original cultural image, the creatures are full of vitality as though depicted in myths and legends. From his creation, one can see his yearning for ancient nature, and also his imaginative and adventurous exploration spirit.

“Unlike painting, the creation of sculpture never ends.” — Kato Izumi

“Paintings should be like children freely swiping their brushes” Kato Izumi once described. He likes antiquities, also likes to visit museums, especially the statues of the Jomon period in Japan, which make his works distinctive, sometimes hermaphrodite, long limbs and creepy posture, feel like the primitive force of plants growing out of the ground but with the vitality of animals. In 2005, he began to explore the three-dimension sculptures, hence he commenced a series of woodcarving sculptures. The imagery of deity-like creature repeatedly appears, which gives another form of existence. He retains the rawness texture of wood, rough and primal as if the vibrant African sculptures, which is an ultimate expression of primitive art. This Autumn auction of Ravenel’s Modern and Contemporary Art proudly presents his woodcarving work “Untitled” made in 2014, with stylized bat wings and insect mesh eyes, uncanny yet refined, also exhibiting his highly stylised process in working with human images, this allows viewers to confront with the artist’s peculiar interpretation of all things in nature. His creations resemble both human and goodness forms, simultaneously display two sentiments of benevolent and unfamiliar. They are solemn, still but full of vigorous vitality. From flat surface to three-dimensional, from painting to sculpture, Kato Izumi’s unrestrained and abundant artistic characteristics create infinite possibilities in contemporary sculpture.

















1973年生於日本東京，多摩大學雕塑系博士學位，90年代日本當代雕塑邁向複合維度的時空與心態深探，三宅一樹從木雕上對哲學的生死、宇宙、人生觀的體現，其以超群技法、觀念體現、自我表白，突破傳統等精神將三維空間的造型結合當代語彙。
2005年開始的「瑜珈」系列是最能闡述三宅一樹創作觀的作品，瑜珈為古印度的一種修行方式，義爲探尋「梵我一如」的道理與方法，藉由調整精神與身體的和諧狀態，淨化內心，古印度六大哲學派別中有瑜伽派，而現代人所稱的瑜伽則是主要是一系列的修身養心方法《瑜珈 — 樹式》中的姿勢展現內在氣韻循環與宇宙的關係，隱含了他「藝術即是修行」的美學觀，雙手合一上舉，在沒有任何支撐的條件下，用獨立的單腿來支撐，如同「連結宇宙與人」之理，寧靜而和諧。然而對三宅一樹而言創造雕塑的歷程也是一種修煉，藝術家以內在氣韻循環與宇宙的關係，將內心的思想與情感轉化在塊面的刻畫與形塑過程中，精神在創作時得到療癒，因而成功塑造一件件承載精神體現的雕塑。

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1973, Ph.D. in the Sculpture Department of Tama Art University, a Japanese contemporary sculptor. In the 1990s, Japanese contemporary sculpture was marching toward a complex dimension of time, space and mentality. Ikki Miyakeembodies the philosophy of life and death, the universe, and the outlook on life from wood carvings. He employs superb technique, idea manifestation, self-confession, with spirits of breaking through the traditional in order to integrate the three-dimensional space with contemporary vocabulary.
The “Yoga” series, which started in 2005, best explains Ikki Miyake's creation concept. Yoga is a way of practice in ancient India, it is meant to explore the principles and methods of “Brahma-atma-aikya” by adjusting the harmonious state between the mind and the body, in order to purify the heart. Yoga school is among one of the six philosophical schools in ancient India, and what modern people call yoga is mainly a series of self-cultivation methods. The “Yoga—Tree Pose” shows the relationship between the circulation of inner rhythm and the universe, which implies the artist’s aesthetic view of “art indeed is practice”. Palms are placed together and both arms are lifted up, the body is only supported with an independent leg. Resembling the principle of “connecting the universe and human being”, tranquility and harmonious. While in regards to Ikki Miyake, the process of creating sculpture is also a kind of cultivation. He manipulates the relation between circulating his inner aura and the cosmos, then transforms his innermost thoughts and emotions into the process of portraying and shaping the surface. His spirit is healed during the creation, which in turn leads to successfully creating one after another sculptures that bear his essence.




萬物皆有靈，神祇與自然為一，充滿靈性的木雕藝術 — 土屋仁応

日本雕刻家土屋仁応於1977年出生於日本神奈川，2001年東京藝術大學雕刻畢業後繼續研讀同大學院文化財保護學雕刻碩士以及並於2007年取得博士學位。而作為他的創作項目之一，土屋從日本民間傳說中創作出各種具有神話色彩的雕塑。

「不管歷史真相如何，神話被一代代傳承下來使我們能夠保持彼此之間的聯繫。」—土屋仁応

生物的姿態與靈性一直是土屋仁応的創作主題，清透乳白如神話般充滿靈性的動物雕刻，如藝術家賦予牠們靈魂與魔法般來去自如。傳統佛像雕的塑曲線柔美、形態大方，土屋仁応在學生時代習得這種傳統佛像的雕刻技法，日本佛像大部份是木製且眼睛的部分採用水晶，他亦借用此種技法創作出新的事物。在其師深井隆的指導下，領略到高山寺「神鹿」像的風采後，便開始了動物木雕的創作。他運用傳統佛像雕刻技法創作的鹿、狐、貓、犬等動物以及神獸們，並以水晶來製作眼珠，以極簡的方式去呈現作品形體，色彩皆趨近於無的狀態是如此柔和、靜謐而又充滿了靈性。 栩栩如生的靈性動物細膩、纖弱但卻透露出一股神秘感，美得讓人窒息，通過藝術家的對於日本文化中神話傳述的特殊情懷，土屋賦予他的雕塑作品神祕、優雅的生命靈動。


All things have spirits, gods and nature are united as one, the art of woodcarving is full of spirituality — Yoshimasa Tsuchiya

The Japanese sculptor Yoshimasa Tsuchiya was born in Kanagawa, Japan in 1977. After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts with a major in sculpture in 2001, he continued to study for a master degree in conservation sculpture in the same graduate school and finally obtained his doctorate in 2007. As one of his creative projects, Tsuchiya created various mythological sculptures from Japanese folklore.

“Regardless of the historical truth, the myth has been passed down from generation to generation so that we can keep in touch with each other.”— Yoshimasa Tsuchiya

The posture and spirituality of living creatures have always been the creation theme of Yoshimasa Tsuchiya. The clear and milky white animal sculptures are full of spirituality, like myths, they come and go freely as if the artist entrusts them with soul and magic. Traditional Buddha sculptures have gentle curve and dignified form, the artist learned this traditional technique when he was a student. Most Japanese Buddha statues are made of wood and the eyes are made of crystal, he also borrowed this technique to create new things. Under the guidance of his teacher Takashi Fukai, he began to create animal wood carvings after experiencing the charm of the “sacred deer” statue in Kozan-ji Temple. He utilised traditional Buddha sculpture techniques to create animals such as deer, fox, cat, dog and beasts, crystals are used to make their eyeballs, displaying the form of his works in a minimalist way. They almost have no colour at all, yet the state is so tender, poise and full of spirituality. The almost lifelike spiritual animals are exquisite and delicate, but they reveal a sense of mystery, which is suffocating. Through his extraordinary sentiments towards the myths in Japanese culture, Tsuchiya bestows his sculptures with the agility of life, mysterious yet grace.







「當我失去了一些東西，當我覺得缺少某些東西時，或者當我被無意中的一些重大變化吞噬時，我感覺或多或少地失去了。我是誰，我應該尋找什麼？事實上，存在本身是模棱兩可的，我們失去了什麼，我們尋找的真相不在個人的『我』之外，而是在內部。」─中村萌

日本當代藝術無限可能，身為目前備受矚目的日本當代藝術家中村萌，於今日東京藝壇堪稱異軍突起，掀起一股療癒系旋風。其作品以充滿手感溫度的人物木雕創作為主，大部份的雕塑作品皆保留了雕刻時的刻痕紋路，獨具風格，在仔細凝視她的作品後不難發現，在充滿童稚的表象下隱含著寂寞且孤獨的社會信息，中村萌藉此探討了身在這資訊迅速蔓延的社會裡個體的存在價值。或許和身處在手機、網絡發達的資訊社會中許多人的內心一樣，中村萌以不那麼令人難以親近的藝術語言，內斂、低調地傳達了大部分人所認同地當代社會人際困境，使她的作品更貼近當代人的內心進而產生共鳴。




野性孤寂共存下的療癒美學 ─ 小泉悟
1983年生於日本宮崎縣，畢業於沖繩縣立藝術大學造型藝術研究所。小泉悟於2010年間，發表一系列身穿著動物裝的孩子木雕作品。穿著動物外衣的孩子們，眼神中卻如出卻帶著一絲迷惘與孤獨。在可愛的外表下，小泉悟描繪的是每個人內心中的孤獨。長期生活在城市中，我們勢必脫去「野性」成為一個離大自然越來越遠、感受力逐漸削薄的群體。以人本主義為核心思想，小泉悟雕塑作品保留了天然紋路與肌理，可愛的動物外衣下有著療癒人心的溫暖卻又流瀉出孤離。但面對自然時，栩栩如生的動物四肢提醒著我們在社會框架之下，人類與自然萬物之間的連結依然密不可分。

The healing aesthetics in the coexistence of wildness and solitude- Satoru Koizumi

Born in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan in 1983, Satoru Koizumi graduated from the Okinawa University of the Arts, the Plastic Art Program. He published a series of woodcarving works of children wearing animal costumes in 2010. The children dressed in animal coats have a look of confusion and loneliness in their eyes, under their lovely appearance, he depicts the solitary in everyone's heart. Living in the city for a long time, we are bound to get rid of the “savageness” and become a group that is getting far and away from nature and our sensibility is destined to gradually get weakening. With humanism as the core idea, the sculptures of Satoru Koizumi retain natural lines and textures, under the adorable animal coats, there is a healing warmth but nevertheless shed a sense of isolation. But when confronting with the nature, the animal limbs vivid as life still remind us that under the social framework, the connection between human being and all things in nature is nonetheless inseparable.



灰原愛畢業於東京藝術大學雕刻系，她的木雕創作呈現圖畫般的少女雕像，可愛、抒情更帶有精神療癒的力量，創造「雕刻繪畫化」風格。而她獨有的少女氣質為當代創作難能可貴的特徵、有治癒人心的溫潤近年來在拍賣市場上屢創佳績，在現當代藝術家中備受矚目。作品充滿童趣詼諧卻又撫慰人心的質感，可愛卻不流於俗套的外型，以不誇張的造型取勝；純真、靜謐的氣息讓人彷彿進入藝術家的綺麗幻想當中。


Ai Haibara graduated from the Sculpture Department of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Her woodcarving creation presents picture-like statue of young girl, which is lovable, sentimental and has spiritual healing power, creating the style of “Painterly Sculpture”. Her distinctive girly temperament is such a rareness and precious characteristic among the contemporary creation, surround with healing warmth. She has repeatedly achieved good results in the auction market in recent years and has attracted much attention among modern and contemporary artists. Her work is full of humour yet with soothing texture, likeable appearance but definitely not fall into conventional pattern, scoring a success with non-exaggerated model, the innocent and tranquil atmosphere brings viewers sort of entering the gorgeous fantasy of the artist.