NAGAK U R A K E N I C H I

K EN I CH I NAGAKU R A’ S SONG BOOK

Kenichi Nagakura’s meticulous bamboo art is literally flying around

the world. In the USA and Western Europe his intimate and eccentric

creations make space among cool, intellectual, often ironic contem-

porary artworks. In private and public settings Nagakura’s creations

distinguish themselves quite thoroughly. His works feel irrepressibly alive,

especially in a cultural context where shopping for parts and subcon-

tractors now comprises a significant percentage of artistic practice.

Contemporary art and the rooms they inhabit are born from genera-

tions of a mechanistic worldview that divides everything into parts and

precludes knowing things from their tender beginnings to their full-blown

realization. In this chilly mix, Nagakura’s agile bamboo creations,

perched on the boundary of nature and culture, resonate with warm

hands-on vibrancy.

Unwrapping each new work of bamboo for this exhibition was a

day of oohs, ahs, and wows. These pieces successfully bypass lan-

guage and strike us dumb with their ability to create new atmospheres.

For more than two decades now Nagakura has been pushing tradi-

tional Japanese basket making into new terrain with his mastery and

experimentation. In this body of work, he reaches new levels of refine-

ment and competence along with changes in his weaving techniques.

How is it possible for one artist to be a virtuoso of so many different

textures and tones? Think of great jazz musicians, especially horn play-

ers, and the range of their improvisational genius.

Edge and Dancing Star are two new bold, muscular objects of

wide angular bamboo that are perfect demonstrations of Nagakura’s

Feather Cape 2007, 15 x 8 x 17 inches (left)

Cover: Edge 2007, 11 x 12 x 14 inches

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versatility and musicality. Rubbed to a sheen and encrusted with clay,

they look armored, primordial and ominous. Another innovation is the

streaming weave of Ikat and Gathering Sounds used to express radi-

cally different affects. The streaming weave of the bucket shape speaks

of overflowing water, and the streaming in the wings of Gathering

Sounds suggests the reverberating strings of an Aeolian harp.

In many of these objects Nagakura keeps his blend of plant and

root, and builds on earlier themes. He revisits the fine weave that mim-

ics flowing fabric in his signature headless “Human Being” figures,

creating new elongated, serene masks in a mellow tone that nod to

Henry Moore, Modigliani and Easter Island. With the action figure

Feather Cape he literally unleashes the restrained and shrouded

“Human Beings”. Like the earlier walking figures, the neck of Feather

Cape is a single bamboo segment separated into thin strands that

expand to build the full figure, but this figure is twisting and leaping,

its robes untangling and afloat. He also returns to his vocabulary of

dried leaf shapes, but instead of the weightlessness of earlier sculp-

tures, the gnarly red dense swirls of Bamboo Cave are a carrier of

grandeur and rough gravitas.

Nagakura’s consummate skill is at the service of his singular vision.

His diverse works can only have come from listening to the world he

inhabits, immersion in the near miraculous growth of bamboo, and the

stirrings of his heart. In their color, range and innovation they are dis-

patches of deep interconnectedness and the intricate edges between

nature and culture. Like great jazz, his songs are sung for everyone,

and these new releases are ready to warm up the bigger world.

MaLin Wilson-Powell

Woman 2007, 9 x 6 1/2 x 24 inches

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A R T I S T ’S S TAT EM EN T

Ten years ago I began focusing my artistic endeavors towards the

United States and am now having my fifth solo show at the TAI Gallery

in Santa Fe. I want to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to

TAI Gallery and their collectors.

The process of creating my artwork began with the formation of my

artistic nature and with my environment in Japan. Beyond these innate

states I feel an invisible force guiding the formation of an intangible

idea into a tangible object. This is a solitary challenge, concentrating

all of my being to create these works.

In preparing for this exhibition I reviewed all my previous works. As

a consequence, many pieces inspired me to revisit my earlier ideas

and forms. I believe there will be a different awareness of my new

work exhibited along side a series of my older work. I look forward

to seeing this exhibition with great pleasure.

Nagakura Kenichi

The Space In Between 2007, 16 x 8 x 13 inches

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Layering 2007, 81/2 x 61/2 x 16 inches

Gathering Sounds 2007, 9 x 5 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches (right)

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Brimming 2007, 26 x 15 x 18 inches

Net 2007, 7 1/2 x 8 x 111/2 inches

Ikat 2007, 14 x 9 x 15 inches (right)

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Dancing Star 2007, 26 x 8 x 16 inches

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Bamboo Cave 2007, 18 x 13 x 13 inches

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Draping 2007, 10 x 7 x 17 inches

Flowing Wood Form 2007, 8 x 6 x15 inches (left)

NAGAKU R A K EN I C H I

1952 Born in Shizuoka City1975 Studied under Grandfather1982 Solo exhibition at Gallery Takei, Numazu1985 Solo exhibition at Shin-Gifu Department Store1988 Solo exhibition at MOA Gallery, Nagoya1990 Solo exhibition at Umeda Hankyu, Osaka

Solo exhibition at Gallery Kouki, Paris, France1991 Solo exhibition at Gallery Kukan, Shizuoka1992 Solo exhibition at Gallery Space Ten, Tokyo1993 Solo exhibition at Gallery Space Ten, Tokyo1994 Solo exhibition at Matsuya, Tokyo1995 Solo exhibition at Akasaka Yu Gallery, Tokyo1996 Solo exhibition at Isetan, Shizuoka1997 Exhibition at German Culture Center, Tokyo1999 Solo exhibition at TAI Gallery, Santa Fe2000 Exhibited in “Bamboo Masterworks”, Asia Society, New York2001 Exhibited in “Bamboo Masterworks”, San Francisco Asian Art Museum,

Honolulu Academy of Art, Aspen Art Center, and Pacific AsiaMuseum, PasadenaWinner of Cotsen Bamboo Prize 2000

2002 Solo exhibition at TAI Gallery, Santa Fe2003 Exhibited in “The Next Generation”, University of Arkansas

Exhibited in “Three Views of Bamboo: Fujinuma, Nagakura, Shono”,Kansas City Jewish Museum, Overland Park, KansasSolo Exhibition at TAI Gallery, Santa Fe

2004 Exhibited in “Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art”, Visual Arts Centerof Richmond, Virginia

2005 Solo exhibition at TAI Gallery, Santa FeExhibited at the Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, New York

2006 Exhibited in “Power & Delicacy: Master Works of Japanese Bamboo Art”,TAI GalleryExhibited in “Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art”, Grinnell College, IowaExhibited in “Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art”, Chicago Cultural CenterExhibited at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MassachusettsCollaboration with Daniel Ost at Nocturne, Brussel, Belgium

Mask: Woman 2007, 6 x 41/2 x 14 1/2 inches (right)

Back Cover: Mask: Man 2007, 7 x 4 x 19 inches

Design by Michael Motley • Photography by Gary Mankus

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