Yoshihiro Suda - sculptor

[runner]

" weeds, 1999"

wood curved in life size and painted

mattress.org

 

[Estella*]

this is incredibly beautiful, so fragile...
thanks, runner!

 

[runner]

you're welcome Estella

mue.co.jp
crazyseoul.com
ciac.ca
voltashow.com
palaisdetokyo.com

Suda's work has always appeared to be very difficult to capture within the existing framework of art history. His works remain impossible to classify, leap beyond existing systems, hierarchies or categories to summon in the next age. Systems are born, established, then destroyed to make way for new systems, and art museums, galleries, even art itself are all part of a system and as such, prone to change.

At the heart of Suda's work there is generally an extremely accurate, life-size wooden sculpture of a plant, created with such surpassing skill as to make it indistinguishable from the real thing. These everyday flowers or overlooked weeds are placed in bold, yet delicate installations that lure us in, and focussing on the plant we are able to discover slight traces of the hand of their creator. The moment we realize that they are such delicate creations that the slightest touch would cause them to scatter to the ground, we instinctively hold our breath. We experience the powerful beauty of destruction while, simultaneously, as we enter into the aesthetic, yet definitely not natural space that Suda has produced, we are seized by a feeling of unease and confusion as it appears that everything around us is a fabrication. All our senses struggle to validate and confirm the place in which we are standing. The works of Yoshihiro Suda invite the viewer into this state and try to begin a new dialogue with them. The space he creates always welcomes the gaze of the outsider; in fact, it is through this premise that they take on their existence.

In the past, Yoshihiro Suda used the word "Ma" in the title of his exhibitions. ("Ma and Rose," Galerie Wohn Maschine, Berlin, 1997; "Ma,", Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo, 1997 and 1999.) The word "Ma" is a concept unique to Japanese culture stemming from an age when people did not differentiate between time and space, and indicates the mutual relationship between the two. It can be said that he wants to create a world of expression where the moment of resonance between the "Ma" and the image of the work are trapped forever in the memory of the viewer. In addition, the artist has a strong interest in Buddhist images, within temples as well as in traditional Japanese culture, and it is interesting to see the way that these aesthetics find their way into the unique techniques he uses in his work.

ciac.ca

 

[runner]

naoshima-is.co.jp
netvironments.org
recirca.com
wohnmaschine.de

18. September - 25. Oktober 2003

“Yoshihiro Suda, a young artist living and working in Japan, carves delicate, actual-size wood sculptures of plant forms, most notably common weeds and flowers such as camellias, magnolias, and roses, some of which have long held symbolic significance in Japan. …”

For this presentation at Wohnmaschine Suda has installed two new works: a broken twig with some scattered leaves in the first exhibition room and a rose in the corridor.

“Suda´s true idiom is spatial as well as sculptural. Early in his career , he began displaying his work within provisional, sometimes portable environments of his own construction ? such as a movable trailer with gold-leaf interior parked in a metered space (Ginza Weed Theory, 1993). Later, when showing his objects in more traditional gallery settings, he occupied these spaces by adding temporary corridors, low doors, or false walls to contain and frame his work. Recently the artist has imbraced the contingencies of existing exhibition venues without making structural alterations. He continues, however, to find unconventional approaches toward shaping and exploring the relationship between the art objects he makes and the particular spaces in which they are displayed. Most often, Suda either places his small sculptures within relatively large, otherwise empty spaces, or positions them at liminal, peripheral points in a room. …

For Suda, meaning is not conveyed by the objects per se; his work is truly activated only in relationship to its surroundings. As such there is a temporal, even performative, aspect to his artistic practice. Ultimately Suda locates significance in the moments of encounter between environment, sculpted form, and viewer. …

Yoshihiro Suda belongs equally to the past and present. He lives in Tokyo in a small, simple house built over seventy years ago ? old in the context of the ultramodern Japanese capital. Uncomfortable with most forms of technology, he works alone at a low table in a tiny studio ? measuring approximately 5 x 6 feet ? for up to ten hours each day.

In a practical sense, the small scale of his work is determined by the size constraints of his working environment. He has, to be sure, developed an adaptive skill. Working exclusively with magnolia wood and traditional Japanese pigments over the last ten years, Suda has aquired his expertise through trial and error. While entirely self-taught, the artist is now truly a master craftsman. “There is no end to technique. When I look at weeds I carved previously they seem badly carved…the one I carve last is always better than the first.” …

In the context of recent Japanese art, Suda´s highly skilled handwork ? as well as his studied involvement with seemingly traditional materials, methods, and subject matter ? stand in sharp contrast to prevailing investigations of youth-oriented popular culture. At home in Japan, and even more so abroad, he is often mistakenly regarded as an older artist, or seen nostalgically, as someone reviving a traditional Japanese craft technique. “I think it is a bit strange,” remarks Suda, “when people point to a relationship between Japanese tradition and my work. Tradition is something that is passed on. I do not have a teacher and I have not restored aanything from the past. This is where my work differs from tradition."

wohnmaschine.de

 

[runner]

chungkingproject.com

 

[runner]

all images and words below from artnews.info



YOSHIHIRO SUDA, Palais de Tokyo, Paris 2004

 

[runner]

 

[runner]

WEEDS, 2004, painted wood,

 

[runner]

AMARYLLIS, 2004, painted wood

 

[runner]

AMARYLLIS, 2004, painted wood

 

[runner]

CLEMATIS, 2004, ca 42 x 33 x 20cm, painted wood

 

[ebonbird]

Intriguing.

I feel like I just took a walk out in the cold. I like some of these a good deal.

 

[ChrissyM]

I like the delicacy of these sculptures...

Also like the quirkiness of plants "growing" out off odd places

 

[gius]

It's so interesting to see art in public or unexpected (un-gallery-like) spaces. I wonder if people get surprised seeing them or if they pass by like it is just a natural part of the environment.

 

[skot4mc]

wow.
I'm interested.

 

[__neversummer]

Wow I love how he has so many pieces look like they're growing out of wood or concrete.

 

[calabral]

these are beautiful, i like them even more with the interesting placements in the room (in the cracks etc)

 

[Colette_B]

very simple and serene, i like it.
...they have a calming and peaceful quality to them.

 

[Honey~Blade]

Thanks so much for this runner! Your posts are always interesting and informative

This guy is incredible! I can't believe his self taught, those flowers are good enough to eat (whatever that means ^^. I'm really happy after seeing all this for some reason.

 

[Baizilla]

What a beautiful concept, I'm in love with his work!