wamono art

Kei Hasegawa

  • Synapse, 2021
  • Bamboo (Madake), rattan,
    H 60 x 60 x 50 cm
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  • Fetus ll, 2019
  • Bamboo (Madake)
    H 75 x50 x45 cm
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  • An element 1.01, 2020
  • Bamboo (Madake)
    H 55 x 45 x 40 cm
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  • Awakening, 2018- Archive -
  • Bamboo (Madake)
    H 60 x 40 x 35 cm
  • Manifestation, 2017- Archive -
  • Bamboo (Madake)
    H 60 x 45 x 30cm
  • Artist statement: I got the inspiration for this work when I saw a thick fog rising, as if it was a life form, from the mountain after dawn and early rain. I was trying to express the moment when the energy of nature is shaping a form, and show its flexibility and divine strength. 

  • Flower bud II, 2018- Archive -
  • Bamboo (Madake)
    H 56 x 36 x 29 cm
  • One bud came out in my garden. This bud seems full of conviction to complete its life without any doubts.
    The strength and the beauty of this bud is the central motif of “Flower Bud Ⅱ”.

Kei Hasegawa
Artist Statement

In my work, the act of thinking acquires form; in particular when it comes to feelings between ourselves and others that are unable to be explained using conventional language.

Since about 2017 most of my work has revolved around looking at people close to me. The sensation is one of dismantling the subtle shifts in feeling sensed when around that person, and what might be causing those shifts, until the constituents of those feelings become apparent, then examining them from various angles, and reassembling them.

This sensation, and that of weaving strips of bamboo, are by nature very similar. Having dispersed the natural form of the bamboo by splitting it, I gather together pieces with suitable properties and use them to compose a work. In the month or two it takes to complete the work, both bamboo and thoughts take on new forms, and the responses thus generated, mine alone, accumulate inside me.

Social currents move faster every year, and a huge sharing of culture is underway that transcends geography and race. So as not to lose sight of myself within that, I am continually engaging in thought to confirm my own existence. Hopefully at some point my practice will go beyond the self to prompt or inspire thoughts in others.

 

思考するという行為が形を得ていく、特に、対他者との間にある既存の言葉では説明のつかない気持ちについて

2017年頃からは身近な人物に目を向けての制作が主軸になりました その人と接しているときに感じた、説明のつかない些細な気持ちの揺れ その揺れの原因がなんであるのか、気持ちの成分が見えるまで分解して、 色々な角度から検討してまた組み直すような感覚です

この感覚と、竹を編むことは性質がよく似ています 竹本来の自然な形を一度バラバラにして、適した質の部分を集めて作品を構成していく 作品完成までのおよそ1~2ヶ月を経ると、竹も思考も新しい形になり、 そうして生まれた私だけの答えが、自分の中に溜まっていくのです

社会の流れは年々速くなり、地域も人種も越える大きな文化の共有も進んでいます その中で自分を見失ってしまわないように、思考を繰り返して私の存在を確かめているのです いずれ制作が自己を超えて、他者の思考のきっかけやヒントになればと願っています

Biography
1986
Born in Kanagawa, Japan
2007
Completed Craft Arts (Bamboo Arts) Course, Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto
2008
Traditional Craft Products Industry Promotion Association Chairman’s Award, 12th Graduation Exhibition, Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
2009
BFA in Bamboo Arts, Advanced Special Study Course, Traditional Arts Super College of Kyoto
2009-11
Technical skill instructor of bamboo craft arts in Venezuela as member of Japan International Cooperation Agency
2013-14
Clerical staff, Japan International Cooperation Agency
2014
Jury’s Special Award, 19th Japan Bamboo Arts Exhibition, Tochigi, Japan
2015
New Wave: Oita Bamboo Art, Beppu City Museum, Oita, Japan
Japanese Bamboo and the World Expo: A Century of Discovery, Japanese Friendship Garden, San Diego, USA
20th Anniversary Special Award, 20th Japan Bamboo Arts Exhibition, Tochigi, Japan
2016
38th Japan New Craft Arts Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan<
37th Kyushu New Craft Arts Exhibition, Fukuoka, Japan
2017
39th Japan New Craft Arts Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
Kumamoto Governor’s Award, 38th Kyushu New Craft Arts Exhibition, The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Saga, Japan
Grand Prize, 22nd Japan Bamboo Arts Exhibition, Tochigi, Japan
4th Reorganized New Nitten, The Japan Fine Arts Exhibition, The National Art Center Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Oita Bamboo Art – 50 years of history and future prospects, Beppu City Traditional Bamboo Crafts Center, Oita, Japan
2018
40th Japan New Craft Arts Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
Oita Governor’s Award, 39th Kyushu New Craft Arts Exhibition, The Kyushu Ceramic Museum, Saga, Japan
5th Reorganized New Nitten, The Japan Fine Arts Exhibition, The National Art Center Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2018-19
Japon-Japonismes, Objets inspirés 1867–2018, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
2019
41st Japan New Craft Arts Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
Next Generation, Beppu City Traditional Bamboo Crafts Center, Oita, Japan
2021
Beppu Mayor’s Award, 57th Lifestyle with Bamboo Art Crafts Exhibition, Oita, Japan
43rd Japan New Craft Arts Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
2022
Saga Television Station 's Award, 43rd Kyushu New Craft Arts Exhibition
2023
Oita Governor’s Award, 44th Kyushu New Craft Arts Exhibition
Visionaries: Making Another Perspective, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan
2024
Pick Up Artist Exhibition Vol. 13 Chronomorphe, Art Plaza - Oita City Museum Architectural Gallery, Oita, Japan
Adoration of Bamboo -Special Feature of Oita Bamboo Art and History vol.8, Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Oita, Japan
Reframing – DESIGNART TOKYO 2024 Official Exhibition, World Kita-aoyama Building, Tokyo, Japan
Public Collections
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Missouri, USA
Taketa City Board of Education, Oita, Japan
Beppu City, Oita, Japan
Publications
Japon-Japonismes, Objets inspirés 1867-2018, exhibition booklet, Published by Japan Foundation, 2018
Kei Hasegawa, Essay by Aomi Okabe, Published by wamono art, 2020
Visionaries: Making Another Perspective, exhibition catalogue, Published by Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. / Book editorial dept., Bijutsu Shuppan-sha Co., Ltd., 2023

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