Sept.14
Shifting Rhthyms: The Sculpted Moments of Shoko KOIKE
Sept.14
Joan B. Mirviss
By Joan B. Mirviss The third solo exhibition of celebrated artist, Shoko KOIKE will be held at Joan B Mirviss LTD. September 11 – October 19, 2018 Joan B Mirviss LTD 39 E 78 Street, New York, NY 10075 Shoko KOIKE (b. 1943) has always taken inspiration from nature, especially from the sea and plants….
Sept.13
Bamboo Artist Jin MORIGAMI opens at TAI Modern in Santa Fe
Sept.13
The work of Jin MORIGAMI is currently being shown in his first U.S. solo at Tai Modern Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, until September 22nd, 2018. Morigami’s delicate designs are presented as a radical departure from traditional Japanese bamboo basketry. “To materialize your vision in bamboo art, you have to keep working with…
Sept.12
Autumnal Eggplant 秋茄子 “aki nasu”
Sept.12
Elizabeth Andoh
by Elizabeth Andoh Botanically a fruit, not a vegetable, eggplant (Solanum melongena) is a member of the nightshade family (as is the tomato and potato). Thought to have originated in India thousands of years ago, the Chinese were probably the first to make use of eggplant in a culinary manner. Widely known throughout Asia, eggplant…
Sept.11
Traveling exhibition, Japanese contemporary ceramics: the Horvitz Collection PART II
Sept.11
Hands & Earth: Six Perspectives on Japanese Contemporary Ceramics Biographical information by Joan Mirviss and Trevor Menders Now open at the Lowe Art Museum Image courtesy of Sokyo Gallery KINO SATOSHI (b. 1987) Fascinated by the potential of fired porcelain to mimic stone when polished, Kino Satoshi chose to focus on porcelain when in art…
Sept.10
The Spy Across the Table: Mysterious Book Report No. 290
Sept.10
John Dwaine McKenna
A review by John Dwaine McKenna of Barry Lancet’s latest book Although prognostication and predicting the future isn’t what we normally do here at the MBR, there’s always exceptions, and this is one. I’m gonna stick my neck all the way out to the cut-on-the-dotted-line tattoo and forecast the near future. In about a week…
Sept.09
Understanding Buddhist Mudra
Sept.09
Mark Schumacher
By Mark Schumacher In Buddhist sculpture and painting throughout Asia, the Buddha (Nyorai, Tathagata) are generally depicted with a characteristic hand gesture known as a mudra. Mudras are used primarily to indicate the nature and function of the deity. They are also used routinely by current-day Japanese monks in their spiritual exercises and worship. One…
Sept.08
The Japanese Aesthetic of Recycling
Sept.08
Gail Rieke
by Gail Rieke Japanese design demonstrates its genius in myriad ways when it comes to reusing materials. The pottery town of Tokename in Aichi Prefecture has an area of town called Dokanzaka that is paved with recycled clay rings and walls of recycled imperfect shochu bottles. This street transforms into an installation piece. Often old…
Sept.07
Cetaceans in the Sea of Okhotsk
Sept.07
Mark Brazil
Cetaceans in the Sea of Okhotsk By Mark Brazil Blue above then blue below. Viewed from just below the pass at Mt Mokoto on the northern rim of the Kussharo Caldera, a low sea of cloud blankets Kussharo-ko, Japan’s largest caldera lake, from view. Beyond the rugged, forested far rim of the caldera to the…
Sept.06
Sake expert John Gauntner reviews seminar in Sacramento for brewers
Sept.06
John Gauntner
There was, in late June, in Sacramento California, an unprecedented event: a seminar ran by a very prominent player in the Japanese sake-making world. It was a seminar taught by Japanese master sake brewers for the 15 or so craft sake producing companies in North America. It was, as might be expected, very, very cool….