TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA
EXHIBITION
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TOKYO
10.3.2013 – 01.19.2014
TOKUJIN
YOSHIOKA GROWS MESMERISING CRYSTAL COLONIES FOR HIS ‘’ CRYSTALLIZE ‘’ EXHIBITION
AT MOT – MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TOKYO
10.3.2013
– 1.19.2014
When he
was younger, Tokujin
Yoshioka wanted to bring a cloud from the skies above down
to earth. His current fascination with natural processes and organic structures
go to show that this desire never went away. Aptly titled ‘‘Crystallize’’, his
latest solo exhibition at the MOT /
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo,Japan, includes
sculptures and larger installations which expose the otherwise unseen, delicate
morphogenetic processes found in natural processes such as crystal formation,
and the way prisms and spaces interact with light.
For Yoshioka, the self-generating, self-organising processes found in natural phenomena can be used as they are, not merely as an aesthetic facade that can be copied superficially. His intention is not to recreate nature, but to expose the innate beauty and creative ‘‘energy’’ in it, by making natural processes part of the art itself. As a result, he literally grows his paintings and sculptures as one would grow plants in a greenhouse through the use of a special liquid which allows natural crystals to grow freely (a transparent pool filled with this liquid, containing a growing colony of crystals is also part of the exhibition that offers visitors a direct encounter with his creative process).
For Yoshioka, the self-generating, self-organising processes found in natural phenomena can be used as they are, not merely as an aesthetic facade that can be copied superficially. His intention is not to recreate nature, but to expose the innate beauty and creative ‘‘energy’’ in it, by making natural processes part of the art itself. As a result, he literally grows his paintings and sculptures as one would grow plants in a greenhouse through the use of a special liquid which allows natural crystals to grow freely (a transparent pool filled with this liquid, containing a growing colony of crystals is also part of the exhibition that offers visitors a direct encounter with his creative process).
In some
of his works, he provides the crystals with a base, something to attach
themselves to ( a flower for his ‘‘ROSE’’ sculpture or thin
strings for his ‘‘Spider’s Thread’’ chair ). In other works,
he allows the crystals to assume their shapes while playing music to
them: his ‘‘Swan Lake’’ series consists of crystal structures which grew while
exposed to Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet music. The
centrepiece of the exhibition however is the large-scale installation ‘‘Rainbow
Church.’’ Inspired by the unique ambience of the Rosaire
Chapel designed by Henri Matisse, ‘‘Rainbow Church’’
features a huge window (reminiscent of those seen in gothic cathedrals) which
instead of stained glass, is made of 500 crystal prisms – thus
creating a diffusion of rainbow rays in the space and an almost religious
experience of purity and timelessness.
Well-respected in Japan and abroad, Tokujin Yoshioka is an artist and award-winning designer whose work combines design with architecture and exhibition installation-art (many of his artworks feature in the permanent collections of museums around the world). As a furniture designer, he exhibits at Salone del Mobile every year. He has also been designing store interiors for brands such as Issey Miyake, Swarovski, Hermès and BMW.
Well-respected in Japan and abroad, Tokujin Yoshioka is an artist and award-winning designer whose work combines design with architecture and exhibition installation-art (many of his artworks feature in the permanent collections of museums around the world). As a furniture designer, he exhibits at Salone del Mobile every year. He has also been designing store interiors for brands such as Issey Miyake, Swarovski, Hermès and BMW.
You may
visit Tokujin Yoshioka’s project of Glass Tea House to click below link.
http://mymagicalattic.blogspot.com.tr/2015/06/tokujin-yoshiokas-glass-tea-house-in.html
TORNADO 2007 & SWAN LAKE 2013
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
SWAN LAKE 2013
Crystallized Painting
Life and
energy in nature are beyond human's imagination.
“Crystallized
project” initiated in 2007 is the experiment creating forms along with natural
forces. By growing natural crystals in a water tank, it is as if the energy of
life is injected into the works. The forms of natural crystals developed
according to the law of nature, express the nature’s unimaginable energy in
diverse forms such as the chairs, paintings and sculptures. During the
crystallization process of the painting, a music is played. Therefore its
vibration influences the formation of natural crystals. This work named “Swan
Lake” is created by playing the music of Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, “Swan Lake”.
Life of nature and energy transforms a piece of music into a painting, and
fosters a life in crystals.
TORNADO 2007 & SWAN LAKE 2013
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
SWAN LAKE 2013 (CRYSTALLIZED PAINTING –
DETAIL )
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
SWAN LAKE 2013
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
SWAN LAKE 2013 (CRYSTALLIZED PAINTING – DETAIL )
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TOKYO
THE MUSEUM OF
CONTEMPORARY ART TOKYO …
SUMMARY OF
THE MUSEUM ITS ORIGINS & THE PRESENT DAY ….
The Museum of
Contemporary Art Tokyo was opened in March, 1995 in Kiba Park, to the East of
Sumida River, as a center for the systematic study, collection, preservation
and display of contemporary art, focusing primarily on postwar Japanese art but
encompassing a wide range of subjects from both here and abroad. Prior to this
there had been no single institute in Tokyo that dealt comprehensively with
contemporary art and a need had long been felt for the establishment of a
facility to trace the various trends in the field. To this end, the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government drew up plans during the 1980s for the establishment of
a museum whose role would be to introduce the rapidly changing trends in
contemporary art on a worldwide scale. In achieving this, it took for its model
the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum which, since its establishment in 1926, has
played an important role in providing avenue for the introduction of the latest
art forms they developed. The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum activities center
around exhibitions, and its collection of approximately 3,000 art works and
58,000 rare book materials, has been inherited by the Museum of Contemporary
Art, providing a valuable source of information on the history of various
creative activities, while also presenting a comprehensive overview of the
times.
With a
collection of over 4,000 works of art and 100,000 book materials, the Museum of
Contemporary Art Tokyo today conducts various projects to grasp the current
state of art by actively addressing the latest creative endeavors, both at home
and abroad, within a variety of fields. It attempts to meet the needs of wide
range of visitors, its various departments collaborating in such areas as the
collection of works/reference materials, the presentation of permanent/
temporary exhibitions, education and the maintenance of a comprehensive art
library, working in the pursuit and promotion of art that is appropriate to the
diversified values of the current age.
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART TOKYO
ROSE 2013, TORNADO 2007
& THE ROSE 2013
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
THE ROSE 2013
The “ROSE” is
a sculpture of rose composed by crystals. A rose, the symbol of love, is
crystallized, and with the growth of crystals, it is given a new life to be a
sculpture. It creates a new sculpture beyond our imagination. The color of rose
is absorbed into the crystals during the process of growth, and gives a subtle
color to the diffused reflection in the crystals. The “ROSE” is a poetic piece
of crystallized flower, reflecting the hidden energy of nature kept in the rose
itself. The ancient wild “soul” in a rose selects the form and the color itself
and sculptures itself slow and steadily. When facing the rose, the flower drawn
by the crystals, an invisible thorn of everlasting true love shall sting you.
TORNADO 2007 & THE ROSE 2013
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary
Art Tokyo
RAINBOW CHURCH 2006
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
RAINBOW
CHURCH 2010
The Rosaire
Chapel designed by Henri Matisse was polished throughout his last years. I
visited this chapel located in Vance in my early 20's, and had a mysterious
experience of being filled with overwhelming light and vibrant colors. A dream
to build architecture like this chapel came up to me strongly. As one of the
important elements in the architecture project “Rainbow Church”, the stained
glass composed of 500 crystal prisms converts natural rays into rainbow color
so that “miraculous light” appears in the space.
Tokujin Yoshioka
WATERFALL 2006
Although it
is transparent, the glass piece emits a strong aura created by the refraction
of light. It is the beauty of chance born at the moment when the glass is
solidified. It is created by the beauty of randomness that nature brings out,
reminding us the beautiful ripple and sparkles on the surface of water. There,
like a sculpture from a block of water, the transparent yet dynamic shape
appears. This project, started in 2002 including the glass bench “Water Block”,
has evolved into a variety of works such as “Chair that disappears in the rain”
for Roppongi Hills and the world's largest optical glass table “Waterfall”. I
participated in the renovation project of the Impressionist gallery at Musée
d’Orsay, Paris. Some of “Water Block” are permanently exhibited with
masterpieces of Mannet, Degas, Monet, Cézanne and Renoir. The glass benches are
placed as if they are filled with the light depicted in the Impressionist
masters’ works, so that they will create the space where the beautiful dialogue
starts between history and present.
SWAN LAKE 2013 (CRYSTALLIZED PAINTING – DETAIL )
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
SPIDER'S THREAD 2013
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
SPIDER’S
THREAD 2013
A chair
created from seven threads.
In the story
“the spider’s thread” written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, the Buddha decides to
give one chance to a criminal in hell who did a good deed of saving a spider
when he was alive. The Buddha takes a thread of a spider in Heaven and lowers
it down to Hell so that the criminal can climb up from the Hell to the Paradise.
In the story, a thread of a spider is a symbol of slight hope and fragility. In
the process of making “VENUS - natural crystal chair (2008)”, a chunk of fiber
was used for growing crystals. However, “Spider’s thread” applies the structure
of natural crystals in an advanced way aiming to produce a form even closer to
the natural form. Seven threads are stretched and tighten between the frame
like a spider’s web, and draw a three dimensional sketch of a chair in the air.
By growing
crystals on this structure made by only seven thin threads, it becomes a
crystal structure that set a form of a chair. Simplifying the volume of its
form as much as possible and following the natural form, a sculpture of chair
will appear formed by the power of nature.
B
THE ROSE 2013
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
RAINBOW CHAIR
2007
Astonished by
the Rosaire Chapel by Henri Matisse, I came up with the idea of the
architecture “Rainbow Church” where visitors are filled with light and
integrated with nature. In its interior space, “Rainbow Chair” is installed as
the symbol of “Rainbow Church”. A solid and transparent sculpture made by
crystal prisms emits an aura of rainbow light.
RAINBOW CHURCH 2010
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Photo © MOT / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA WORDS & ABOUT HIM
HIS PHOTOGRAPHS FROM DIFFERENT PROJECT
TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA WORDS
Born from nature. Nature provides us astonishiment that is beyond our imagination. We may be shaken by its power, be struck with awe and praise the inscrutable beauty simultaneously. What exactly are these feeling? Why can nature move our hearts? And how do we sense it?
I think the answer to these questions lies in the mechanism of life inscribed in human, which is outside the reach of memory or senses. Life of human is also given from nature, which evolved from the harmony of the myriad of chances and necessity. That is why it feels to me that there are the mechanism of unifying the connection between human and nature within our lives.
Nature may not actively produce “beauty”, but it is filled with energy to create it. I infused the exhibition tile “Crystallize” with meaning of “creating works from crystallizing the energy of nature.”
Works of crystal take their forms as if power of nature animates them and an architecture formed by light composes beautiful pieces of poem. Resonating with life, energy of nature appears in the works of art.
Forms of works generated from nature go beyond our imagination. They take their own figures by reacting with nature and its hidden energy that move our heart. This is the liberation from the concept of formation and techniques.
And there exists my answer to the future.
Tokujin Yoshioka
VENUS -
NATURAL CRYSTAL CHAIR 2007 – 2008
KARTELL
GALLERY SNOWFLAKE 2010
INVISIBLES
2010
B
TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA
Born in 1967. Established Tokujin Yoshioka Inc. in 2000. His works,
which transcend the boundaries of product design, architecture, and exhibition
installation, are highly evaluated also as art.
His representative works include the paper chair “Honey-pop”, “PANE
chair”, "VENUS - Natural crystal chair”, Swarovski Crystal Palace
“STARDUST” “Stellar”, YAMAGIWA’s lighting “TōFU” “Tear Drop”, and “MEDIA SKIN”
"X-RAY" for au design project.
"Water Block", a representative work of optical glass
projects started since 2002, is permanently exhibited in Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
As some of the other important works, he designed the SWAROVSKI’s
flagship store in Ginza and a number of boutiques for ISSEY MIYAKE. He has
collaborated with various leading companies such as Hermès, BMW, MOROSO,
TOYOTA, LEXUS.
He also directed exhibition such as "Second Nature" at
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in 2008, and Cartier’s special exhibition "Story of . .
." - Memories of Cartier creations (2009), and "Cartier Time
Art" (2011).
Many of his works are displayed as a part of permanent collections
in the world’s well-known museums including Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New
York, Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Victoria and Albert
Museum, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and Vitra Design Museum.
He received prizes such as “Mainichi Design Award, 2001”, “Cultural
Affairs Section of Government of Japan, Encourage Prize, 2006”, “Design Miami,
Designer of the Year, 2007”, “Elle Deco International Design Awards (EDIDA)/
Designer of the Year 2009”, "TOKYO Design & Art ENVIROMENTAL AWARDS /
Artist of the Year 2010", "A&W Architektur & Wohnen/Designer
of the Year 2011", and "Maison & Objet/ Creator of the Year
2012".
His books are “TOKUJIN DESIGN” (Gap Publication), “Tokujin Yoshioka
Design” (Phaidon Press), “Invisible Forms” (Access Publishing), “TOKUJIN
YOSHIOKA” (Rizzoli International Publications ). Appeared in television
broadcaster TBS’s documentary program, “Jonetsu Tairiku” and selected by the
Japanese edition of Newsweek as one of the “100 most respected Japanese by the
world," and "The 100 Most Creative People in Business 2010" by
Fast Company magazine in America.
