From the Ningin blog, by DavidHou on 2008-10-04 02:11:29 (original link)
We got a very special sneak peek of the incredible exhibition opening this weekend at Japan Society, New York City!
New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters is the first comprehensive overview of centuries-old methods of basketry using bamboo as a new medium for modern sculpture in Japan.
As soon as you walk into the lobby, you’ll be greeted by a large-scale, split-bamboo kakoi (enclosure) by bamboo master Kawana Tetsunori commissioned especially for the exhibition by Japan Society. Even the moss underneath the bamboo kakoi is specially selected by the artist. It’s an incredibly tasteful pairing of matching hues and textures. Along the walls, you’ll see a series of intricate bamboo constructions by the New York-based (and only non-Japanese) sculptor Stephen Talasnik, who illuminates Western architectural and engineering principles.
New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters presents 23 innovating artists, many of whom completed rigorous apprenticeships to become master basketmakers before breaking and bending the rules they so dutifully studied.
New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters opens October 4, 2008 and remains on view through January 11, 2009 at Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street between First and Second Avenues, New York City.
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