photo: SAIKI Taku
ZONE II
| Artist | AKIYAMA Yo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1991 |
| Material/ Technique | carbon-impregnated earthenware, steel |
| Size/ Duration | H97 × W158 × D102cm |
| Copyright Notice | © AKIYAMA Yo |
| Year of acquisition/ donation | 2006（作品購入年月日：2006/3/31） |
| Description | Born in Yamaguchi, Japan in 1953. Lives and works in Kyoto. Since establishing a strikingly original manner of ceramic expression by inducing cracks in ‘kokuto’ (carbon-impregnated earthenware), Akiyama Yo has employed ‘kokuto’ and high-temperature firing in expressing the geological forces that shape the land. He has thus pioneered new formal expression in clay and won international acclaim. Working in ‘kokuto,’ Akiyama has produced “Peneplain,” a series of works created with clay slabs resembling cracked and scorched earth. In developing this series, Akiyama gradually moved from the exterior surface of the work to the completion of its interior and brought the work to consummation in the form of a sphere. While continually varying his firing techniques and expressive style, Akiyama always engages the clay in a pure dialogue, seeking to illicit from it expression of the varying character of the land. Applying the flame of a gas burner to a clay sphere, cylinder, or cone, Akiyama induces cracks on its surface, working systematically so as to give them a fixed rhythm, and assembles the fragments thus formed in a clay body. Then, after painstakingly polishing its surface to produce a gloss, he fires the piece in a kiln. The profound black produced when the carbon in smoke impregnates the clay surface during oxidation in the kiln is the distinctive feature of ‘kokuto.’ In "ZONE II", he has fused a cone and half-sphere in such a way that they support each other and maintain a balance. The work moves us to ponder gravity, oscillation, rhythm, the formation of exterior/interior and front/back, and the locus of territory. While embodying one natural conclusion of Akiyama’s ‘kokuto’ work, "ZONE II" also suggests the key concepts Akiyama would thereafter explore to greater depth and develop more dynamically in such series as “Geological Age,” “Oscillation,” “Border・System,” and “Meta-Void.” |
NOTES
This Collection Data page contains the works and materials in the collection of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, as of April 1, 2018.
Artists are listed alphabetically by artist’s surname.
Works and materials by the same artists are listed according to the date of the work in principle.
Works whose dates are unidentified are listed at the end of each item. Some works are not listed according to the date of work due to their relations.
The data of works and materials are listed in order of title, production year, material/technique/form, dimensions, donor’s name, copyright holder and credit for photograph.
Dimensions are given by height (H) x width (W) in centimeters for plane work, and height (H) x width (W) x depth (D) in cm for 3-D work. Diameter (Ø) is used for circular work.
For the name of country or city, the name currently used in English is listed in principle.