art, somewhere in between New York and Tokyo

As part of their 50th anniversary, Stelton has enlisted Japanese designer Hiromichi Konno to design Setting Bowls for their Spring 2010 collection. When stacked the bowls resemble a flower in full bloom – very elegant and cheery. I love the pastel colors!

As of 2008 Konno has established a design studio in Tokyo. But before that he spent 3 years under the wings of Ross Lovegrove and then another 6 independently in the UK. This experience definitely shows through in his work.

Tama Art University, commonly referred to as Tamabi, is a prestigious art school – the RISD of Tokyo – that has produced several notable artists and designers, including Naoto Fukasawa and Issey Miyake. Therefore, we like to pay attention to some of the young artists being churned out of this educational system. With less than 1 month till the exhibition, Tamabi’s information design department has launched a website showcasing the work of their graduating seniors. The work will be on display at Modapolitica in Minami-Aoyama from March 12th – 14th. Here as some pieces that caught my eye.
* denotes titles translated arbitrarily by the author

“Subterranean Fear*” by Masaya Noguchi
A proposed redesign of sidewalks the recreates the fleeting sense of fear one experiences when something unexpected appears below their feet.

“Oripica” by Shion Suminokura
When was the last time you made origami by folding light?

“Calorie Trade Project” by Yoshie Takahashi
An En-Chari (Entertainment-Chrity) project that allows the user to reallocate their own calories to children in Kenya.

“Multiple Perspectives of the Pacific War*” by Mayu Fujimaki
A computer-based reenactment of events of the Pacific War. The user, as he or she engages with the system, is prompted to view events of the war from multiple perspectives.

Related:

• Tamabi’s BFA show from last year

click to enlarge

If you will indulge me in a walk down memory lane, last year around this time we featured the work of Japanese photographer Kanako Sasaki in conjunction with the Shiseido Art Egg awards. Well, her work is now available at Azito, the online gallery of contemporary Japanese art! Kanako received her MFA in photography from our very own SVA in 2004. Kanako is a storyteller. She photographs herself in sites of historical significance, using history as an alternate landscape.

click images to enlarge

As I mentioned earlier, the 69th Tokyo Gift Show is currently underway. If you are going, also be sure to check out the display booth of Sasaki Kogei, who won the Gift Show eco company of the year award last year. They will be showcasing their latest products which includes this beautiful wooden puzzle of all the 47 prefectures of Japan. They’ve used 10 different kinds of wood to differentiate between the puzzle pieces. I’ve been meaning to brush up on my geography skills….

Another great design also using puzzle pieces are these interlocking picture frames! I think some floor-to-ceiling action using these pieces would be breathtaking.

Related:

• Sasaki Kogei Wooden Toys

The 13th TARO Award was just announced yesterday! The annual awards, whose inception took place after Taro Okamoto passed away in 1996, are given to contemporary Japanese artists carving a path for their generation, or as Taro would say, creating “explosive” art. A record 758 entries were received and 22 head-nods later we had 4 winners.
* denotes titles arbitrarily translated by yours truly.

image © kodama gallery. all other images © taro okamoto museum

The first place (the Taro Award) went to Toshihiko Mitsuya for his large-scale work “The Indignant,” which includes  quite a few soldiers sculpted from aluminum foil.

Second Place (the Toshiko Award) went to Makiko Tsuji for her fossilized every-day objects.

There were 2 honorable mentions. One which went to Takahiro Nagasawa for his large-scale print titled “Professional Baseball Report*”. Inspired by Nomura Kantoku, perhaps Japan’s most well-known manager of a baseball team, the work is an example of excessive fandom in which Nagasawa has etched the results of all 9 innings of all 150 games played during the season, onto a 6-meter wide scroll.

The second honorable mention went to Manabu Hasegawa for his sculpture, “Dust Before the Wind*,” which is a Japanese phrases that is suggestive of ephemeral qualities but can also signify imminent danger. I will now stop as any further contemplation will lead too easily to predictable interpretations of male identity.

Masahiro Minami, while he is not designing furniture modeled after pizzly bears or tasty delights modeled after hair, also finds the time to teach a design seminar at the University of Shiga Prefecture. Occasionally he shares some of the work that his students create. A byproduct of his latest seminar, which just wrapped up last month, was this awesome kids dresser, table and chair. I can’t believe that was done by a student. I would buy that!

Planning on checking out the Tokyo 69th International Gift Show starting tomorrow and continuing on through the end of the week? Be sure to check out the Takahashi Kogei booth where designers Oji Masanori and Rina Ono will be showcasing their respective new works.

From Oji Masanori: KAMI dishes, a new addition to the KAMI line of paper-thin wooden cups. To be used as coasters, lids or whatever you want, really. Also, the Kakudo wooden butter cases.

From Rina Ono: The wooden desert cup and goblet.
Wood is horrible at conducting heat, which makes it ideal as a container for cold deserts because you don’t get condensation!

Related:

• Baby In Table by Oji Masanori
• Cowakka by Rina Inao

Rounding out my several posts on accessories from last week is the design studio PULL+PUSH PRODUCTS. The studio has been based out of Kyoto ever since their founding in 2002. It is headed by designer and raftsman Nobuhiro Sato (I know, I meant to write craftsman, but wouldn’t it be funny if he was also a rafts man?), who is supported by Sanae Komatsu. Together, they form the tight-knit design studio, meaning, they handle everything from designing and production to packaging and shipping.

By the way, I love their adorable profile pics whose playful nature is consistent with their work. They derive inspiration from the cold and heavy to create the fun and exciting. For example, this abandoned building lamp (12,600 yen) would make for an awesome accent piece.

The drain planter (3,780 yen) is also fun, in a gross kind of way. It’s like all the gook that gets caught in the drain decided to sprout greens.

Then there is the incinerator (4,410 yen) that burns incense.

Perhaps my favorite is the ingenious mortar push-pins (630 yen). Although they only come in packs of 6, how often have you exhausted your supply of 500?

Sandwich on Rye (3,000 yen) is a desktop accessory that takes its name from the versatile characteristics of, you guessed it, a sandwich. You can put whatever you like in-between. It’s the latest brainchild of Haruka Nakai of Design Office Switch.

Catching the wave from my last post I’m going to take the day to post about a few other accessories I’ve been eyeing lately. First up is Frames, a mobile made from hinoki, or Japanese cypress.

click images to enlarge

Taking its cue from the work of Alexander Calder, the minimalist/cubist structure uses transparent strings to create the illusion of levitation.  It also presents itself with a 2nd element of joy; the shadows it projects onto a wall. It was designed by Shigeki Fujishiro, who left the design firm IDEE in 2005 to start his own studio.

The mobile debuted in 2008 at an exhibition at Tortoise in LA. They then traveled back to Japan where they resided for 3 months at an exhibition at NACT (National Art Center Tokyo) in early 2009. And finally, after their long pilgrimage, they are available for purchase (36,750 yen) at Scope. You can even watch a small video here if you scroll down towards the bottom.