“I want to explode the idea of beautiful Ikebana,” says Kose OhtsuboOne of the most important conceptual artists who work in the Japanese tradition.
Since the 1970s, Ohtsubo has been disturbing the old art of flower arranging. The inclusion of atypical botanicals such as cabbage leaves or weaving in unconventional materials such as bathtubs and scrap, the artist approaches the mindset of a jazz musician, a genre that he often listens to while working. Improvisation and experiments are the core, along with an unqualified desire for the unexpected.
An exhibition on Kunstverein Munich In Munich, Ohtsubo links with Christian Kōun Alborz Oldham who, after discovering the Ikebana icon work in a book in 2013, became his student. Entitled Flower planet-Wel References a sign That hangs outside Ohtsubo’s Tokorozawa Home and Studio – the show presents various sculptures and installations that invite viewers to consider vulnerability, decline and the elusive qualities of beauty and control.
Given the short -term nature of the materials, photography plays an important role in most Ikebana practices because it keeps a scheme long after it has been wilted. This exhibition therefore combines images of earlier works with new committees, including Ohtsubo’s striking Orb entitled “Linga Munich.” Nest in a bed of soil and leaves, wrap the large -scale sculpture willow with metal structures and positions a small candle in the middle.
Similarly, ‘willow rain’, which hangs thin branches of the ceiling. The undermining of the way in which we typically come across growth fields are the work one of the many in the exhibition that argues about our relationship with the natural world and the limits of human control.
Flower planet can be seen until April 21. Explore Ohstubo’s vast archive on Instagram.
Reflecting sphere, Japanese woven bamboo basket
